Australia celebrated a dominant 28-run victory over Bangladesh in a rain-affected T20 World Cup Super Eight clash in Antigua on Thursday. The triumph was sealed thanks to a sensational hat-trick from Pat Cummins and a rapid 53 not out from David Warner, as Australia chased down a revised target of 141 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method.
Australia, aiming to complete a historic treble of World Test Championship, ODI World Cup, and T20 World Cup titles, was awarded the victory after reaching 100-2 off 11.2 overs when rain brought a premature end to the chase. Earlier, Australia had restricted Bangladesh to 140-8 in their 20 overs at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound.
Australian captain Mitchell Marsh lauded his bowlers for setting the stage for the win. “Really exciting bowling performance, the boys played well tonight,” Marsh stated. “It is a very good playing XI. We’ve got 15 guys that can take us deep in the World Cup, but there’s a long way to go.”
Cummins, thrilled with his first international hat-trick, expressed his excitement. “Pretty awesome to tick that off,” Cummins said. “The boys are welcoming me into the club — it’s a good club to be part of.”
Warner led a spirited pursuit of the victory target, despite multiple rain interruptions to the Australian innings. A final rain delay pushed play past midnight with Warner unbeaten on 53 and Glenn Maxwell on 14, leaving Australia requiring 41 runs from 52 balls. With no further play possible, the result was declared in Australia’s favor.
Bangladesh, batting first after losing the toss, struggled to find their rhythm, with their innings slowing considerably after Cummins claimed the wickets of Mahmudullah, Mahedi Hasan, and Towhid Hridoy in consecutive deliveries over two overs. Cummins, returning to the starting lineup, finished with impressive figures of 3-29, while spinner Adam Zampa also impressed with 2-24.
Mitchell Starc, meanwhile, etched his name into the history books, becoming the most prolific bowler in white-ball tournament cricket history with his 95th World Cup wicket, trapping Tanzid Hasan in the opening over. This landmark achievement saw him surpass Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga, setting the tone for Australia’s dominant bowling performance.
Australia’s bowlers kept Bangladesh on the defensive from the outset, with Josh Hazlewood, restored to the attack, starting his spell with a maiden over. Another tidy over from Starc limited Bangladesh to just eight runs off the first three overs. However, Najmul Hossain Shanto signaled a more aggressive approach with a six off Hazlewood to open the fourth over.
Liton Das struck a pair of boundaries off Starc in the fifth over, increasing Bangladesh’s run rate to 5.40 runs per over at 27-1. However, the introduction of Zampa slowed Bangladesh’s batting momentum, and the spinner soon had Liton bowled out after tempting him to sweep in the ninth over, leaving Bangladesh at 58-2.
Maxwell struck next in the 10th over, dismissing Rishad Hossain caught by Zampa at short third man for two runs, as Bangladesh reached the halfway stage of the innings on 67-3. Shanto’s dismissal by Zampa for 41 in the 13th over further hampered Bangladesh, leaving them on 84-4 before Cummins ripped through the lower order, setting Australia a target of 141 to win.
