The match in a tweet: Survival! Khawaja, Zampa keep Australia's #WT20 campaign alive with an impressive three-wicket win over a valiant Bangladesh
The scorecard: Bangladesh 5-156 lost to Australia 7-157 by three wickets with nine balls remaining
The hero: While much of the attention has been
focused on Aaron Finch's exclusion, Usman Khawaja has made the most of
his inclusion in Australia's T20 outfit at the top of the order. No
batsman in Australia's squad is in better form than the languid
left-hander, and on Monday night, a sterling 58 not only justified his
selection but cemented his position. Like he did in Dharamshala against
the Black Caps, Khawaja got off to a flyer, starting with two to the
leg-side before sending Mashrafe Mortaza back over his head for his sole
maximum. Effortless stroke play featured throughout his innings,
pulling, driving, charging, flicking and finding the rope at regular
intervals. The 29-year-old combined with Shane Watson for 62 for the
opening wicket, teamed up with his captain to put on another 33, and
added a further 20 with David Warner before he was bowled behind his
legs by Al-Amin Hossain to end his 45-ball stay.
The consolation effort: Bangladesh were limping to
an underwhelming 130 before Mahmudullah stepped up and lifted his side
to a competitive total with a late flurry. Finishing unbeaten and one
short of a well-deserved half-century, Mahmudallah hit seven fours a
furious six – the half-dozen coming from a clean strike off returning
allrounder John Hastings. At one stage, between overs 19 and 20, the
right-hander crashed four boundaries in five balls, denying the
Australians a routine run chase.
The monkey off the back: It took 56 balls across
four matches, but Adam Zampa finally captured his first T20 wicket for
Australia. The wicket-taking delivery was no Gatting Ball, nor a
venomous flipper or a deceptive googly – it was a good old-fashioned
long hop, a second-ball loosener that was crunched by Mohammad Mithun to
Shane Watson at deep midwicket. Zampa should have got off the mark two
games back, when Glenn Maxwell dropped a sitter on the rope in Cape Town
to spare Rilee Rossouw the honour of becoming the 23-year-old's maiden
T20 international scalp. He didn't wait long to get his second, trapping
Shuvagata Hom lbw with a straighter one that skidded on seven balls
later. Zampa then added a third, producing a thick edge from Shakib Al
Hasan's cut shot that found its way to the safe hands of Nathan
Coulter-Nile at short third man.
The shot: In a traditional sense, the lofted cover
drive for six is the hardest shot to play in cricket. Sure, strokes like
the switch-hit, reverse sweep and the myriad types of laps and ramps in
the modern game could make a case as the most difficult, but for more
than 100 years, hitting over the off-side between point and mid-off was
the hallmark of pure power and timing. Not only did Mithun launch one
over cover for six of the best, he did it off the back foot with a
vertical bat, raising the degree of difficulty from 9.6 to 9.9 and
executing to perfection.
The shot 2: Maxwell casually clipped a ball that pitched a foot outside leg-stump over backward square leg for six. Head-shaking stuff.
The shot 3: He then played an orthodox lofted
straight drive over wide long-on with perfect technique for six more.
His 15-ball cameo ended on 26 when he sprinted at Shakib and failed to
connect with a wild swipe.
The drop: Last ball of the Powerplay. Australia
0-50. Watson 13. Khawaja 36. Rahman the bowler. Left arm fast. Over the
wicket. Pitches on leg. Full. Watson works to on-side. Leading edge.
Skied. Way, way up. Watson drops his head. Saunters through. Ball still
going up. Three fielders converge. Nobody wants it. Ball starts
descending. Batsmen sense confusion. Watson speeds up. Khawaja turns
back. Both batsmen at the non-striker's end. Ball plummeting. Watson
spins 180. Mithun calls late. Dives. Spills it. Watson scurrying.
Mortaza fires a throw at striker's end. Watson lunges. Ball misses.
Australia 0-51. End of Powerplay.
The dismissals: While the run chase was never really
in doubt after Khawaja's fast start, Australia lost wickets along with
the way and kept Bangladesh in with a sniff. Watson was run out coming
back for a tight second; Smith bowled by a yorker between his legs;
Warner spooned one back to Shakib; Maxwell was stumped hoicking; Marsh
popped a slower ball to a sprawling point and Hastings holed out in the
deep. While the pressure was off, it won't be like that in their
remaining two must-win matches against Pakistan and India.
The stat: Zampa's haul of 3-23 from four overs is
the fourth-best bowling figures by a spinner in T20I cricket for
Australia. Glenn Maxwell (3-13) and skipper Steve Smith (3-20) are ahead
of the blond leggie, as is his Melbourne Stars captain David Hussey,
who sits tied second with Smith.
The wash-up: This match was massive for both teams;
the winner kept in touch with the top two spots in Group 2, while the
loser was sent to the bottom of the table with little hope of advancing.
For Australia, it was the first of five victories needed to win the
World T20. Smith's charges travel to Mohali tomorrow (Tuesday) for their
remaining two group matches – Pakistan on Friday followed by India on
Sunday. It's been a trying tournament for Bangladesh, who had the joy of
progressing to the Super 10 phase quickly replaced by sadness and
frustration due to losses to Pakistan and Australia and the untimely
suspension of two key bowlers. While the Tigers can still mathematically
make the semis, their tournament future now relies on every team
winning two matches and losing two, and some thumpings mixed in there to
boot.
