Australia, for the second consecutive time, had their fixture washed out by the rain. On the first occasion, it was a fortunate one but last night versus Bangladesh they were denied a victory in a simple chase at the Oval.
The rain arrived in the 16h over of Australia’s small chase and ruined the match completely. They needed to play four more overs to ensure a result but the London weather wasn’t humble at all.
It was for the first time it happened so that Bangladesh taking on Australia became a subject for exciting debates. These two teams meetings have happened only on a handful of occasions and when they do, Australia always ended up making them vanish in no time.
The 5th match of the Champions Trophy, however, was thought to be different. Bangladesh improvements in the ODI format was the talking point and the formidable Australians were urged to be wary of committing any blunder. The clash between the two-time champions and the underdogs somehow became interesting due to this build-up.
However, Australia showcased their typical dominant behaviour to suppress all the hype surrounding Bangladesh and their so-called rise without much efforts. Mashrafe Mortaza’s side totally failed to challenge Steven Smith & Co. in any aspect of the contest.
At first, there was a batting failure, as Australia wrapped up the inspired Bangladesh unit for a paltry 182 in 44.3 overs. Rain made its first appearance towards the end of the Bangladeshi innings and also delayed the start a bit. Australia was able to come to chase and quickly put themselves in a match-winning position.
But, the weather was in no mood to contain itself. For Steve Smith and opener David Warner, who began to forge a partnership after the loss of Aaron Finch, it became a race to reach the 20 overs mark. Smith played five dot balls in the 16th over from Mashrafe Mortaza in an attempt to fulfil the required overs quota. But, it was of no use. The Aussies were well ahead of the par score.
Australia now has two points from two games and has to beat England in the final group game to ensure a place in the semis. For Bangladesh, who have one point from two games, there still is hope alive. Earlier in the day, barring Tamim Iqbal, who continued his excellence, no Bangladeshi could manage an appreciable score. Out of the XI, eight batsmen ended up with single digit scores to their name. Shakib Al Hasan and Mehedi Hasan Miraz were the only ones to get to the double-digit scores.
The slump began with the very first wicket of opener Soumya Sarkar who poked an away going delivery from Josh Hazlewood unnecessarily and marked his departure after Tamim Iqbal started the innings smoothly with an attacking approach. However, things slowed down immediately, as Starc and Hazlewood bowled tight and aggressive lines. The first ten overs yielded only 37.
To make it slower, Pat Cummins, the first change bowler, chipped a wicket for himself in his third over of the spell, getting rid of Imrul Kayes. Moises Henriques also snapped the wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim an over after being brought into the attack.
The early damage was done and the Bangladeshis went 11 overs without boundaries later on. However, the same dry spell of batting also gave an opportunity to resurrect the innings, as Shakib Al Hasan (29 from 48 balls) joined Iqbal to show some fight. The duo helped the rebuilding efforts with a 69-runs stand spanning close to 13.3 overs.
But, Shakib threw away his wicket to a part-time spinner Travis Head at the crucial point just when Tamim started counter attacking. His fall became the first part of the rapid downfall of the rest of the batting order.
Leg spinner Adam Zampa did further damage with two quick wickets, snapping both Sabbir Rahman and Mahmudullah Riyad in the space of just four deliveries. Bangladesh, now six wickets down, had Tamim as the only hope. He tried everything to take his side closer to the 200-run mark. Mehedi Hasan Miraz (14 from 26 balls) made his small contribution before Starc made a short work of the Bangladeshi resistance.
The left-arm yorker merchant claimed four wickets in the space of nine deliveries and wrapped off the innings at the earliest. In the 43rd over, he put himself in a position of taking a hattrick by removing Mashrafe Mortaza and Rubel Hossain off consecutive deliveries. He could not achieve the feat, as Mustafizur Rahman survived.
However, Starc returned in the following over to get Mehedi clean bowled and complete the formalities.
Brief Score:
Bangladesh: 182 all out (Tamim Iqbal 95; Mitchell Starc 4/29)
Australia: 83/1 (David Warner 40; Rubel Hossain 1/21)
Match Ended As No Result