Historic Sobhana Mostary ton in Australia sparks a flurry of Bangladesh records

Sobhana Mostary became the first Bangladeshi woman to score an ODI century on Australian soil, making 118 in Brisbane on October 11 as Bangladesh recovered from 8 for three to post 220 for six in the second match of the series.

Bangladesh lost two wickets in the final over, but captain Nigar Sultana Joty stayed unbeaten on 74 from 114 balls. She hit seven fours, and the 220 for six was their highest total against Australia in women’s ODIs in Brisbane.

Sobhana’s innings ended in the 48th over, bowled by a full toss from Megan Schutt. She made 118 from 134 balls, with 18 fours, and her dismissal ended a fourth-wicket stand with Joty that finished five runs short of 200.

Their 195 is the highest stand for any wicket by Bangladesh in ODIs and the highest for any wicket against Australia in women’s ODIs, overtaking the 170 added by New Zealand’s Emily Drumm and Rebecca Jane Rolls for the second wicket in 2002.

She had reached three figures off 123 balls, guiding a short ball from Annabel Sutherland through backward point for four to move from 95 to 99, then taking a single next ball. It was the first century by any Bangladeshi against Australia.

It was the second-fastest ODI century by a Bangladeshi, behind only Joty’s 80-ball hundred. Sobhana needed 57 balls to go from 50 to 100 in Brisbane, a maiden century at 24 that followed a fourth career half-century off 66 balls.

Her 118 eclipsed Farzana Haque’s 107 off 160 balls against India in 2023 as the highest ODI score by a Bangladeshi woman. It was Bangladesh’s fourth ODI century and made her the third centurion, after Farzana, who has two, and Joty, who has one.

No Bangladeshi woman had previously reached a half-century in an ODI against Australia, and the best individual score had been 29, made at home. Sobhana’s 118 therefore dwarfed everything that came before it, in only the second match of the tour.

Sobhana and Jotyrebuilt patiently. Their stand reached 110 off 139 balls by the time Sobhana, who hit nine fours, passed fifty, and 150 off 208 balls, while Joty took 97 balls to reach her own half-century, with five fours.

The innings had begun badly. After losing the toss and being asked to bat, Bangladesh slipped to 8 for three in 7.2 overs, with Farzana Haque, Sharmin Sultana and Sharmin Akhter all gone, leaving the tourists staring at another collapse.

The tour is a landmark one, Bangladesh’s first bilateral series in Australia. Trailing after a one-sided defeat in the opener, the Tigresses had their backs against the wall in the three-match series, and Sobhana answered when it mattered most.