Bangladesh`s batters once again struggled against Australia in their first Super Eights match of the T20 World Cup in Antigua, managing only 140 runs for eight wickets.
Australian pacer Pat Cummins recorded a hat-trick, dismissing Mahmudullah Riyad and Mahedi Hasan in the final two deliveries of the 18th over. Mahmudullah attempted a pull shot but only managed an inside edge onto his stumps, while Mahedi`s uppercut went straight to the fielder at deep third man. Cummins then bagged Towhid Hridoy`s wicket with the first ball of the final over.
This marked the second hat-trick by an Australian in the T20 World Cup, the first being by Brett Lee, also against Bangladesh.
After winning the toss in overcast conditions, Australia made a strong start by dismissing Tanzid Hasan Tamim early. Both Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood posed big challenges to the Bangladeshi top order, hindering their progress.
Najmul Hossain Shanto provided some resistance for Bangladesh, scoring 41 runs – his highest in this World Cup so far. Prior to this match, he had scored three single-digit scores in the group stage, with his best being 14 against South Africa.
Litton Das also showed promise, but the dangerous Adam Zampa dismissed him for 16 runs after he attempted a sweep. Before his departure, Litton had contributed to a 58-run partnership with Shanto, which laid a foundation for Bangladesh, albeit belatedly.
Bangladesh promoted Rishad Hossain up the batting order to counter the spinners Zampa and Glenn Maxwell. However, the pitch proved challenging for playing spinners effectively, and both Zampa and Maxwell disrupted Bangladesh`s batting lineup. Rishad`s promotion was cut short by Maxwell.
From the 9th to the 13th over, Bangladesh could only muster 27 runs while losing three wickets. This phase of the game significantly hampered Bangladesh`s progress, and they were unable to recover.
Towhid Hridoy provided a brief spark of hope with back-to-back sixes off Marcus Stoinis after the dismissal of Shakib Al Hasan. However, he could not maintain this momentum toward the end of the innings. He made 40 off 28 balls.
Despite the solid foundation laid by Najmul and Litton, Bangladesh failed to post a competitive total. Zampa was the most successful bowler for Australia, taking two wickets for 24 runs, while Cummins` three wickets also restricted Bangladesh`s scoring.
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