Rain-blessed Tigers live to fight another day

Heading towards almost certain defeat Bangladesh were given a lifeline by the rainy London weather, which caused their Group A Champions Trophy match against Australia at The Oval yesterday to be abandoned and the points shared equally between the two sides. 

Australia, chasing a paltry 183, had raced to 83 for one in 16 overs to keep their trophy ambitions on track after a disappointing opening game against New Zealand. They shared the points of that abandoned game but would have felt lucky to be saved by the rain. A minimum of 20 overs has to be played for the Duckworth-Lewis rain calculations, in which Australia were far ahead, to come into effect and produce a result. 

A brief shower stopped the game after 16 overs with Australia with pace bowler Rubel Hossain drawing the only blood by dismissing Aaron Finch for 19 in his first over. The Aussies were only four overs away to settle the issue through the D/L method with David Warner on 44 and captain Steve Smith on 22. The rain had stopped in the late evening and play was set for a resumption at 8:30pm, with Australia set a revised target of 172 in 43 overs. However, five minutes before resumption, the rain started falling again and with a cut-off time of 10:15pm the umpires, seeing no end to the rainfall, decided to call off the match at around 9:15pm. 

Bangladesh, having lost their opener against England, have one point from two matches while Australia have two points after their opener against New Zealand, during which the Aussies were staring defeat, was also abandoned. The Tigers' final group game is against New Zealand on June 9, while Australia's final match will be against archrivals England the following day. 

Earlier, Tamim Iqbal stood tall amid the ruins with a fantastic 95 as Bangladesh collapsed to 182 all out.

The left-hander was the lone shining light in an inexplicable batting collapse against a disciplined Aussie attack that vindicated Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's decision to bat first. Mashrafe's decision might have been influenced by the fact that Bangladesh had posted a 300-plus score at this very ground in their opening game against England, but Tamim apart the rest simply faded away playing wrong shots.

Tamim, the centurion in the previous game, showed how to bat before he was dismissed in the 43rd over, top-edging Mitchell Starc to deep fine leg, where Joss Hazlewood took a well-judged catch. The lone ranger, who desperately missed a partner, hit six fours and three sixes in his 114-ball knock.

He was the seventh batsmen out with the score on 181. Bangladesh could add one more run before being dismissed for 182 in 44.3 overs. Mustafizur Rahman somehow denied Starc a hattrick in a maiden over during which the Aussie quick took three wickets, including Mashrafe and Rubel Hossain, off successive deliveries. He also bowled Mehdi Hasan Miraz in his next over to finish with four for 29.  

Earlier, Soumya Sarkar's contribution in the match was a struggling three off 11 balls. He departed in the same fashion as he did in the practice game against India. He was not sure whether he edged a length delivery from Umesh Yadav in the other game, but yesterday it was a healthy edge off Hazlewood.

Imrul departed for six. It was a ball meant to be hit but the left-hander drove straight to cover-point. At 37 for two in 10.2 overs, Bangladesh were expecting another century partnership when Mushfiqur Rahim came out to bat. Mushfiqur put on 166 runs, the highest partnership for the third wicket on this ground, with Tamim in the opening game against England. But the right-hander was trapped right in front of the wicket for nine by Moises Henriques, one of the four pacers Australia employed in the match. His departure after the first drinks break served a blow in Bangladesh's quest for a big total.

Bangladesh lipmped to their first fifty off 90 balls for the loss of two wickets -- their 100 came in the 27th over.

While wickets fell thick and fast at the other end, Tamim not only stood his ground but also played like a man possessed. It was not that he started cautiously -- he played according to the merit of the ball. The left-hander, who scored a magnificent 128 against England, reached his 50 off 65 balls. He plundered 15 runs in the 23rd over bowled by Henriques. He charged down the wicket for a huge six over long-off, followed it up with a savage pull down to the mid-wicket boundary. He also glided the fifth ball to the fine leg boundary in that over that yielded 16 runs. He also treated The Oval audience, dominated by Bangladeshi expatriates, with two successive sixes against off-spinner Travis Head.    

While Tamim played the role of an aggressor, Shakib Al Hasan, for a change, was content to play as the second fiddle in a 69-run fourth-wicket stand. Shakib was playing confidently before being adjudged leg-before by Nigel Llong with the score on 122. The left-hander, who was well forward, asked for a review but was overruled by the third umpire.

Sabbir departed just after the second drinks interval. He became the first victim of Adam Zampa for six. He deposited a wide half-volley straight to extra-cover, leaving Bangladesh at 141 for five. Zampa then had Mahmudullah Riyad bowled for eight in his next over. Bangladesh were reeling at 153 for six at that point. Mahmudullah's contribution to the game was a six over long-on against Glenn Maxwell.