Colombo: Despite a spirited resistance from the middle order led by Alok Kapali, Bangladesh was shot out for a mere 129 runs in 45.2 overs in a Group 'A' league match against Australia in the Champions Trophy cricket tournament on Thrusday.
Kapali, Tushar Imran and captain Khaled Mashud were the only ones to reach double figures after Bangladesh had lost its top four batsmen for just 13 runs on the board. Kapali top-scored with 45 runs while Imran and Mashud chipped in with 27 and 22 runs respectively. Mashud added 36 runs each with Imran and Kapali for the fifth and sixth wickets respectively before becoming the only victim of leg spinner Shane Warne. Jason Gillespie was the most successful of Australian bowlers, claiming three wickets for 20 runs while Brett Lee and Shane Watson took two wickets each. Bangladesh, which elected to bat after Mashud won the toss, found the going extremely tough against the world champions. It started disastrously, losing opener Al Sahariar and Habibul Bashar to Gillespie in the second over of the innings without putting up any score on the board. McGrath sent back the other opener Javed Omar (4) in the fifth over before Gillespie struck again in the eighth over to dismiss debutant Mazharul Haque for three to leave Bangladesh tottering at 13 for four.
Imran and Mashud then got down to resurrect the innings a bit through their fifth wicket partnership before Lee struck for Australia. Imran was caught by Michael Bevan off Lee for 27, which contained five hits to the fence. Bangladesh batsmen looked much more comfortable against the spin attack of Warne and Darren Lehmann. In fact, the eight overs Lehmann sent down allowed them to settle down and play freely. Warne too was tackled with comparative ease and conceded 33 runs off his 10 overs. But once the pace attack came back in the final overs, Bangladesh innings crumbled again. Watson, who was introduced into the attack in the 42nd over, struck with his third ball when he trapped Khaled Mahmud leg before wicket, a decision for which the third umpire had to be consulted. Kapali, who grew in confidence as he batted along, was out as the ninth wicket, clean bowled by Lee. His 45 contained three boundaries.
Extras:
Bangla skipper Mashud opts to bat against Australia
Tags: icc 2002, icc champions trophy, india, new zealand, premadasa, sri lanka, pakistan, australia, england, bangladesh, , zimbabwe, kenya, netherlands, west indies, south africa, semi final, finals, scorecards, statistics, ground.
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