Sharmin Akhter narrowly missed out on a maiden century but her career-best 96 off 89 balls powered the Bangladesh women’s team to their highest ever total in ODIs, 252-4, against Ireland in the first ODI of the three-match series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka today.

Sharmin hit 14 fours in her splendid innings, which ended in the penultimate over, when she got caught at mid-off Freya Sargent while attempting to reach the three-figure mark with a boundary.

Opener Fargana Hoque also played her part, making 61 off 110 balls and forming a solid 59-run opening stand with Murshida Khatun (38 off 61), which laid the foundation for Shaarmin to take the attack to the Irish.

For Ireland, off-spinner Sargent claimed a couple of wickets while Laura Delaney and Aimee Maguire took one wicket each.

Bangladesh women’s team’s previous highest score in ODIs was 250-3, which came against South Africa in East London in December last year.

Earlier, Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana had won the toss and opted to bat first.