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Follow UsMitch Starc does Mitch Starc things upfront
Facing Mitchell Starc under lights is a nightmarish task and the aggressive Tanzid Hasan lasted only three balls before being cleaned up by the left-armer. Not for the first time, Starc gave Australia the perfect start to a white-ball contest.
The wicket took Starc to top of the list in terms of wicket-takers in World Cup history (ODI + T20I).
Skipper Shanto leads Bangladesh’s fightback
From 0/1 in 0.3, Bangladesh recovered to 58/1 thanks to skipper Najmul Shanto’s fightback. Shanto entered the clash with scores of 4, 1, 14 & 7 but posted a well-compiled 41, where he counterattacked. He slashed Starc over point on his third ball and then, an over later, danced down the track and hammered Hazlewood for a straight six.
His knock got the Tigers back on track.
Adam Zampa triggers a Bangla collapse
Bangladesh slipped from 58/1 to 103/5, and the collapse was triggered by Zampa, who dismissed both Litton Das and the set Shanto in the space of three overs. Yet again, it was Zampa’s accuracy that got the better of the batters: while Litton was bowled, Shanto got trapped plumb in front.
Pat Cummins’ hat-trick seals Bangladesh’s fate
Just when it looked like Towhid Hridoy (40) might cause some damage, Cummins sealed Bangladesh’s fate by picking the first hat-trick of this T20WC edition.
He removed Mahmudullah, Mahedi Hasan and Hridoy across two overs to become the second Aussie, after Brett Lee, to take a T20WC hat-trick. Bangladesh, as a result, could only manage 140.
Warner and Head kill the game in the powerplay
The game was over before Bangladesh could realise as Head and Warner racked up 59 runs in the powerplay, smashing nine boundaries in the first six overs. Head (31) departed soon after the powerplay, but Warner (53*) ensured that the Kangaroos registered a thumping 28-run win in a rain-curtailed chase.
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