Bangladesh lose despite scoring their highest ODI total

Bangladesh were left to rue their slow-paced batting in the middle overs as  Australia defeated the Tigers by 28 runs (DLS method) in the teams' Super Eight fixture of the T20 World Cup in Antigua on Friday.

David Warner starred with an undefeated 53 off 35 balls, while Pat Cummins bagged a hattrick, as the former champions outclassed Bangladesh in all departments of the game.  

Australia were cruising along in chase of 141, at 100 for two in 11.2 overs and 28 runs ahead of the DLS par score before bad weather intervened for the last time.

Earlier, asked to bat, Bangladesh could not capitalise on the cautious yet promising start, courtesy of Najmul Hossain Shanto (41 off 36) and Liton Das (16 off 25). From 58 for one in eight overs, their innings lost steam in the middle overs, which produced 45 runs in 45 balls before Shakib Al Hasan (eight) got out at the beginning of 17th over, with the score at 103 for five.

Towhid Hridoy quickfired a 28-ball 40 but his efforts were not enough as the Tigers posted a sub-par 140 for eight on a sporting surface at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. 

On the bowling front, Rishad Hossain was the only positive for Bangladesh as the tall leggie picked up two wickets against the run of play.

Rishad Hossain and teammates celebrate a Australia wicket in Antigua on June 21, 2024 (Bangladesh time). Photo: BCB

Up next, Bangladesh play India in a potential must-win game on Saturday, in order to keep their hopes alive for a maiden semifinals entry. 

Rishad's twin blow gives Tigers sliver of hope, but Aussies unfazed

Bangladesh leg-spinner Rishad Hossain struck twice in his first overs, removing Australia's Travis Head and skipper Mitchell Marsh, but the Tigers still have a long way to go in swinging the momentum of the Super Eight match of the ICC T20 World Cup in their favour.   

Chasing 141 in Antigua, the Aussies are 100 for two in 11.2 overs, with Warner batting on 53 after completing his 28th fifty in the format, before bad weather intervened again. At this stage, Australia are way ahead in terms of par score, 72. 

Desperate for a breakthrough after Head and Warner smacked Bangladesh bowlers all over the park, the rain interruption worked in the Tigers' favour and it was Rishad who came up with the goods.

Continuing impressive run of form, Rishad first deceived Head with a flighted ball which castled his stumps before trapping Marsh in front in the following over.

The Aussies, however, remained unfazed from the double setback as Warner and new batter Glen Maxwell operated in their characteristic fashion.  

Bangladesh's vice-captain Taskin Ahmed (L) and Australia's David Warner look during the ICC men's Twenty20 World Cup 2024 Super Eight cricket match between Australia and Bangladesh at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, on June 20, 2024. Photo: AFP

Headache for Tigers as Warner, Head taking game away

Bangladesh are getting increasingly desperate to get their first breakthrough as Australia openers, chasing 141, are busy bullying the Tigers in the teams' Super Eight fixture of the T20 World Cup in Antigua on Friday.

The 2021 champions are 64 for naught after 6.2 overs, with Head and Warner batting on 31 and 32, respectively, after rain halted proceedings.   

Head smacks one to the boundary. Photo: AFP

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto has opted to bowl off-spinner Mahedi Hasan from the onset, with fast bowlers Tanzim Sakib, Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman all getting to roll their arms in the first six overs.    

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Impactful Sakib needs to carry on

Shanto, Hridoy score bulk of runs as Tigers post 140; Cummins star with a hattrick

Riding on two good knocks from Najmul Hossain Shanto and Towhid Hridoy, Bangladesh have totaled 140 for eight against Australia in the teams' Super Eight fixture of the T20 World Cup in Antigua on Friday.

Shanto and Hridoy in action against Australia in a T20 World Cup Super Eight fixture Antigua on June 21, 2024 (Bangladesh time). Photo: BCB

Asked to bat, captain Shanto, coming in at number three following the first-over dismissal of Tanzid Tamim, hit six fours and a six to score the bulk of runs, 41 off 36 balls. His partnership with Liton Das for the second wicket yielded 58 runs -- Bangladesh's score after eight overs.

However, the Tigers struggled once Liton (16) departed in the ninth over, leading to the fall of promoted Rishad Hossain (two) in quick succession and Shanto in the next five overs, which saw only 26 runs.

Towhid Hridoy and Shakib Al Hasan then promised to get a partnership going, bringing up the total to three figures in 15.3 overs, but Shakib (eight) was undone by Stoinis' slower delivery, resulting in a caught-and-bowled dismissal. 

Hridoy, however, began counter-attacking immediately, striking Stoinis for consecutive sixes, setting the tone for Bangladesh to tally 150-plus score on a seemingly good batting track at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

His partner, Mahmudullah Riyad (two), was the next to go as the veteran mistimed a pull shot off Pat Cummins to play the ball onto the stumps. Cummins bagged his second victim in the next ball, sending returnee Mahedi Hasan back in the dugout for a duck.

Cummins would go on to achieve a hattrick -- the seventh bowler to achieve the feat in the tournament's history -- as he returned in his next over, the innings' final, to remove Hridoy (40 off 28) who failed to scoop beyond the fielder at short fine-leg.

Australia will be happier of the two sides, given how the first eight overs panned out. Adam Zampa made the key breakthroughs, removing Liton and Shanto, while only Josh Hazlewood remained wicketless.  

Bangladesh off to confident start despite early blow

Bangladesh batters Liton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto have well negotiated the Powerplay with cautious aggression after losing Tanzid Tamim in the first over against Australia in the teams' Super Eight fixture of the T20 World Cup at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Friday.

Shanto and Liton run between the wicket. Photo: AFP

The Tigers are 57 for one after eight overs, with Liton and Shanto batting on 16 and 31, respectively. 

[Update: Liton fell in the first ball of the ninth over, bowled by leggie Adam Zampa in trying to execute a sweep shot, before pinch hitter Rishad Hossain, promoted up the order, fell prey to off-spinner Glen Maxwell. Bangladesh 67 for three after 10 overs.]  

Bangladesh, sent in to bat, lost opener Tamim in the third ball as the left-hander, who got out against Nepal in the very first delivery, failed to connect a full-pitched delivery from Mitchell Starc in the first over, ending up getting castled. Starc bowled three overs on the trot in the six overs of Powerplay.

Starc celebrates Tamim dismissal. Photo: AFP

Despite the setback, captain Shanto eased the pressure with some well-timed strokes. Meanwhile, Liton Das, took ten deliveries to get off the mark, managed to middle a few to up the ante.

Mahedi in as Tigers asked to bat by Australia in Antigua

Bangladesh have been asked to bat by Australia in their first Super Eight fixture of the ongoing T20 World Cup at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Friday.

The Tigers have made one change from their last match, bolstering the bowling, with spin-bowling all-rounder Mahedi Hasan replacing Jaker Ali Anik to make his first appearance in the ongoing tournament.    

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 For Australia, pacers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins return to the side. Ashton Agar and Nathan Ellis make way for the two superstars. 

Starting XI

Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Liton Das(w), Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman

Australia: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh(c), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade(w), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Highlights

*Australia have six wins to their name against Bangladesh's four in 10 T20Is. All four of the Tigers' victories came in Mirpur.

*Bangladesh have never beaten Australia in the T20 World Cup, losing in five meetings.

*Average first innings total at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium is 118. Pacers and spinners have had similar experiences at the venue as both have conceded runs at less than seven an over. In this T20 World Cup, however, spinners have conceded more, 8.45 runs an over, than pacers (7.74).

*Bangladesh pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib has taken seven wickets in the Powerplay, joint-most with Afghanistan Fazalhaq Farooqi for most scalps taken in the first six overs in the tournament. Meanwhile, Mustafizur Rahman's 67 dot balls is the joint-most in the group-stage of the tournament alongside New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson.

*At the batting front, Marcus Stoinis (10) and Travis Head (9) both are in the top five for most sixes hit in the edition so far. Towhid Hridoy is in the top 10 with six maximums.

*Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib, who will be on a hattrick whenever he comes to bowl against Australia, needs one wicket to become the first player to take 50 wickets in T20 World Cup history. He is also two wickets away from becoming only the second player after Tim Southee (164) to take 150 scalps in the format.

Bangladesh stood their ground against Australia in their second leg match of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, but couldn't avoid a 2-0 defeat against the superior opponents on a 'heavy' field at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka on Thursday. 

The hosts put up a stiff resistance throughout the match against the Socceroos, who are 160 places ahead of Bangladesh in the FIFA rankings, and conceded a defeat which could be considered respectable compared to their 7-0 thrashing in the first leg in Melbourne.

Bangladesh managed to keep Australia at bay for almost 29 minutes before Ajdin Hrustic broke the deadlock with a left-footed strike. The second goal came in the 62nd minute with Kusini Yengi heading the ball home.

"I always said the result was not that important to me. The objective was to improve the performance, which we did not do in Melbourne and I think we achieved that objective regardless of the result," said Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera after the match.

"So [we did] extremely well in defending in the whole game and there were also outstanding work in marking the players, maintaining the defense line and defending the set pieces.

"We could have played more with the ball in the first half, having a couple of combinations but we lacked a bit in confidence," said a happy Cabrera who wants his side take the positives from their valiant fight against 24th ranked side in the world.

Australia coach Graham Arnold, however, expressed his displeasure with the condition of the pitch but also praised Bangladesh for their fight.

"I am very proud of the players today [Thursday]. Obviously, we don't get to play in these types of conditions… The pitch was poor and it was unacceptable and it's no shock to me that six players from Bangladesh were cramping, their calf muscles and hamstrings. It's not good. I'm being very honest," Arnold said.

However, Cabrera did not agree with Arnold's assessment.

"It wasn't muddy, it was heavy, depends on how you see it. May be in the beginning it was advantageous for us because it was not easy for them [Australia] to move quickly but to me, the pitch was totally playable after the rain of two or three days.

"I understand him [Arnold] because they are used to having top-class facilities. But top-class facilities are not available everywhere in football… I think the pitch we played is very very decent for Asian matches," Cabrera said.

The defeat ends the mathematical chances of Bangladesh qualifying for the next stage of the qualifiers.

Bangladesh are at the bottom of the four-team Group I with one point in five matches, which came from a 1-1 draw at home against Lebanon.

Australia have already sealed qualification as group champions, with five wins in as many matches while Palestine are in second position with seven points. Had

Bangladesh managed an upset win over Australia and won their final match against Lebanon and Palestine had lost their last two matches, Bangladesh could've made it to the next phase as group runners-up.

Mitchell Marsh hit his second hundred in the ongoing ICC World Cup as Australia ended the group stage with a seventh successive win after two defeats at the start of their quest for a record-extending sixth title.

Marsh's unbeaten 177 helped Australia to beat Bangladesh by eight wickets in Pune on Saturday.

The 32-year-old all-rounder expressed his thanks to the leaders of his team with his second World Cup century following a challenging week for his family.

An emotional Mitch Marsh revealed his gratitude to Australia team leaders for permitting him compassionate leave during the mega event, allowing him to send off his beloved 'Pop' following his death last week. 

Marsh flew home to be in Perth for his maternal grandfather Ross' final days, missing the Aussies' match against England, before rejoining the team for their final two group matches against Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

The allrounder said his match-winning century on Saturday was the first innings of his career his grandpa did not see. 

"He was a huge part of my career – he always used to tell me he bowled 150kph. Unfortunately, he didn't give me that gene," the typically disarming Marsh, who shares the middle name Ross with his brother Shaun, told reporters in Pune after the win over Bangladesh.  

Marsh watched the funeral on a live stream before Australia trained on Friday in Pune, expressing his appreciation to captain Pat Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald for being able to return home.

"It's obviously a challenging week for the family," said Marsh. "My Pop was an outstanding man and just a huge cricket supporter and he's watched a lot of cricket over his time.  

"It was sad but he lived a beautiful life.  

"The fact that Ronnie (McDonald) and Patty allowed me to go back without questioning anything, putting our family first, it meant a lot to me. 

"Sitting with my grandma watching the boys wear black armbands (was special), little things that probably a lot of people think that goes unnoticed on TV."

"I felt really cared for and to go back into the World Cup was a big call, but now that we've qualified, it's all worth it," said Marsh.  

"I felt really supported from our group, from our family. My Nanna was very vocal about me coming straight back and getting stuck in. My Pop certainly would have been as well. 

"That gave me a lot of happiness to come back and do this. I've worked my whole career to be able to play the World Cup so Pop certainly would have understood that."