BD vs Aus: Match Reports

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Australia book place in semi-finals crushing Bangladesh
Santhosh S - 19 September 2002

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Australia have secured their place in the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy following a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Bangladesh at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo on Thursday. The current world champions, who thrashed defending champions New Zealand in their opening game, will now take on hosts Sri Lanka in what promises to be one of the most enthralling of contests.

On the day, the Bangladeshi bowlers were ill-equipped to defend a meagre total of 129 against an all-powerful Australian batting line-up.

Openers Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist were both in fine form as they almost carried Australia to their second ever ten-wicket victory in ODIs.

Hayden was the one who got off to a head start during a partnership that yielded 113 runs off 17.4 overs, scoring freely and racing ahead of Gilchrist. The left-handed batsman from Queensland pulled and drove with ferocious power, and all the fielders could do was watch as the ball raced to the fence with regularity.

The one striking feature of Hayden's remarkable strokeplay was his footwork. This was best displayed in an astonishing shot that he played after coming down the pitch to Manjural Islam. Seeing that the bowler had tried to foil his intentions by bowling a high full toss, Hayden just shifted his weight to the back foot and swung it over square leg for a huge six.

It took Gilchrist slightly longer to discover his rhythm but once in the groove he too was cutting and pulling merrily. The exciting left-hander made a cracking 54 off 49 balls, striking nine boundaries before being dismissed lbw to Mohammad Rafique with his side 17 runs short of victory.

Hayden, however, stayed till the end, smashing the ball over extra cover for a boundary to seal the Australian win in the 21st over. The muscular opener remained unbeaten with 67 off 69 balls (10 fours, 1 six) while skipper Ricky Ponting ended up on nine not out.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh elected to bat and got off to a shocking start. The top-order batsmen showed a complete lack of commitment as two wickets fell in the second over bowled by Jason Gillespie. The lanky quick accounted for Al Sahariar and Habibul Bashar, both batsmen being dismissed for ducks.

At the other end, Glenn McGrath was his usual mean self and it was not long before he too struck, getting rid of Javed Omar (4), caught by Brett Lee at mid-off, in the fifth over.

Gillespie, then, struck again as Mazharul Haque (3) gave a simple catch to Gilchrist. At 13/4 in the eighth over, it seemed imminent that Bangladesh might be skittled out for the lowest ODI score ever.

But Tushar Imran and his skipper Khaled Mashud put their heads down, grafting runs and helping Bangladesh stage a mini recovery. Imran struck a few boundaries off Brett Lee while making 27 before slicing a catch to Michael Bevan at cover point. Mashud, for his part, made 22 before being bowled by Shane Warne.

Alok Kapali, who replaced Imran, received a life early in his innings - Hayden failing to hold on to a simple chance at first slip off the bowling of Warne. The Bangladeshi middle-order batsman made the most of the mistake and went on to become the top scorer with 45 off 75 balls. None of the remaining Bangladeshi batsmen were to get to double figures.

Ponting experimented for a while with Darren Lehmann being given a long spell of eight overs. Shane Watson's introduction was thus delayed, but once the medium-pacer was brought on, he hastened Bangladesh's end by picking up two wickets, including that of last man Manjural Islam.

With Ricky Ponting's men needing just 130 for victory it was more a question of when than whether after that. In the end, they took a trifle longer than expected but that said theirs was nevertheless a most comprehensive win.

© CricInfo

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Only the 19th ODI for BD after the world cup 99 - 19th successive ODI also means that Bangladesh has played in only 19 ODIs after the world cup 1999

Australia rout Bangladesh to reach last four

By Brian Murgatroyd
COLOMBO (Reuters) - Australia set up a semi-final showdown with Sri Lanka as they crushed Bangladesh by nine wickets in their pool 1 Champions Trophy clash.

Australia had looked on course for only their second victory by 10 wickets in 512 one-day internationals with Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist moving smoothly towards Bangladesh's total of 129 all out.

But Gilchrist's dismissal for 54 with the score at 113 put paid to their hopes of a win by that margin, and it was left to Hayden and captain Ricky Ponting to see the world champions home in only 20.4 overs.

Hayden smashed the winning boundary from off-spinner Mazharul Haque to finish with 67 from 70 balls, while Ponting was unbeaten on nine at the close.

The defeat was Bangladesh's 19th successive one-day loss and their 51st fin 54 matches. They also recorded the lowest total of the tournament so far, eclipsing the 132 of New Zealand, also against Australia, on Sunday.

A win for the world champions was inevitable as soon as Bangladesh slumped to 13 for four after their captain Khaled Mashud won the toss and bravely decided to bat against the same attack that had skittled New Zealand, the tournament's defending champions.

Jason Gillespie (three for 20) struck twice in his first over to remove Al-Sahariar, lbw half-forward, and Habibul Bashar, caught behind by Gilchrist, both wickets falling without a run on the board.

Glenn McGrath then got in on the act by dismissing Javed Omar for four, caught by Brett Lee at extra-cover.

When Gillespie struck again to dispatch Mazharul Haque, caught by Gilchrist as he gloved a hook shot there seemed a real danger Bangladesh would not pass the lowest score in one-day international history, 38 by Zimbabwe against Sri Lanka on the same Sinhalese Sports Club ground in 2001.

That indignity was averted by gritty middle-order contributions from Tushar Imran (27), Mashud (22) and Alok Kapali (45) but the damage had been done.

Ponting could afford to relieve Gillespie and McGrath and give fast bowler Brett Lee and spinners Darren Lehmann and Shane Warne an extended bowl safe in the knowledge that Australia had the match completely in control.

Lee picked up two wickets and Warne one, while Shane Watson wrapped up the innings with two late lbws, both given out after referral to the third umpire Srinivas Venkataraghavan.

Requiring only 2.6 runs per over to win, Hayden began like a man in a hurry, illustrating why he was the leading run-scorer in the recent triangular series against Pakistan and Kenya as he pulled and drove with brutal power.

Gilchrist faced only 12 balls in the first seven overs and began by struggling to find his timing. But he soon caught the mood and the pair never looked in trouble.

Hayden reached his 50 first, from 53 balls with seven fours and a pull for six from a Manjural Islam full toss, quickly followed by Gilchrist, whose half-century took just 44 deliveries and included nine fours.

Nothing seemed likely to separate them until Gilchrist missed an attempted sweep at left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique and was adjudged lbw.

The Australian players now head off to the Maldive islands for a short break ahead of their semi-final against Sri Lanka next Friday.

Bangladesh and New Zealand will contest the final match of pool 1 on Monday, but neither side can displace Australia at the top of the standings.

The other semi-final will be between the winners of the England-India clash in pool 2 and South Africa if they beat Kenya in the final pool 3 match on Friday.