Australia skipper Steve Smith warned his side faced defeat in coming matches unless they improved after their thrilling three-wicket win over Bangladesh in their ICC World Twenty20 clash in Bangalore on Monday.
Opener Usman Khawaja hit a quick-fire half-century as Australia successfully chased down Bangladesh’s total of 156-5, with nine balls to spare.
The victory puts Australia’s bid for a first ever World T20 trophy back on track after the top-ranked Test side lost to New Zealand in the northern hill station of Dharamsala in their opening match.
Photo: AP
However, Smith said Australia needed to adapt better to different playing conditions if they were going to defeat Pakistan on Friday, before taking on red-hot title favorites India for a place in the semi-finals.
“We haven’t been good enough in the middle overs,” Smith said. “We’ve had a bit of travel, but it’s not an excuse.”
“Pakistan and India play well in these conditions and we have to do better. Our players have to adapt better,” Smith said.
Australia spinner Adam Zampa, who took three wickets, his first in T20 internationals, said the side had been disappointed to lose to New Zealand.
“The equation for us is pretty simple now, win every game,” Zampa, named man of the match, said, adding that he expected an equally tough battle with both Pakistan and India.
Khawaja hit seven fours and one six before he was bowled for 58 by Al-Amin Hossain in Monday’s Super 10 Group Two match.
Khawaja, born in Pakistan, and Shane Watson put on a solid 62-run opening partnership before the veteran all-rounder was run out for 21.
Bangladesh’s string of bowlers mounted a spirited attack against Australia, after suffering a devastating blow when Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny were suspended for illegal bowling actions at the weekend.
Smith was bowled for 14 by Mustafizur Rahman and David Warner was caught and bowled for 17 by Shakib Al Hasan. Glenn Maxwell was stumped for 26 off 15 balls.
James Faulkner hit the winning runs with nine balls to spare.
Bangladesh, demolished by Pakistan in their first group match, are now unlikely to qualify for the semi-finals, sitting at the bottom of their group with two matches left to play.
“Two losses in a row, but we have two matches left and we’ll see what happens,” skipper Mashrafe Mortaza said.
“Our fielding and bowling could have been better,” he added.
After Australia won the toss and elected to field, Mahmudullah top-scored for the Tigers, striking an aggressive unbeaten 49, that included seven fours and one six.
Seasoned T20 campaigner Shakib also chipped in with 33 off 25 balls, as Bangladesh desperately tried to notch up their first points in the group stage.
Shakib struck three fours and one six before being caught by Nathan Coulter-Nile off Zampa for the fifth wicket.
Spinner Zampa, 23, spearheaded the Australia bowling attack with his three wickets, while Watson claimed two.
Right-hander Mohammad Mithun struck a tidy 23 off 22 balls before being caught by Watson at deep midwicket off Zampa.
Opener Soumya Sarkar was caught for one trying to slash a Watson delivery, only for Maxwell to take a straightforward catch at point.
Sabbir Rahman scored 12 off 17 balls before Faulkner took a diving catch off a Watson delivery in the sixth over at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Shuvagata Hom, rushed into the side as one of the replacements for Taskin and Sunny, was LBW to Zampa for 13.
Shaquille O’Neal is staying with TNT Sports on a new contract worth more than US$15 million per year, Front Office Sports reported on Friday. The news means the cast of Inside the NBA is staying together even as TNT is set to license out the show to ESPN starting next season. TNT was the odd network out in the NBA’s recent TV rights negotiations, as NBC and Amazon joined previous rightsholder ESPN in inking deals for basketball games. That left TNT without a need for pregame and postgame NBA shows. In a trade with ESPN, TNT is licensing Inside the NBA to the
Eugenie Bouchard already has her own signature pickleball paddle. She is No. 17 in the pickleball rankings and constantly appears on the main court at events because she is always a big draw. However, just to be absolutely clear, she is not retired from tennis. The 2014 Wimbledon finalist still practices on the tennis court, still competes at tennis events and still has a Women’s Tennis Association ranking (No. 1,288). The Canadian standout just has a new sport that has caught her attention. Bouchard is one of several familiar tennis names — like Jack Sock and Donald Young — crossing over to
Starting with three fights in the first nine seconds and ending with a celebration and a spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off final, the US on Saturday delivered exactly what Matthew Tkachuk hoped for by beating Canada. “We needed to send a message,” Tkachuk said. “The message we wanted to send is ‘It’s our time.’” Tkachuk fought Brandon Hagel off the opening faceoff, brother Brady tussled with Sam Bennett the next time the puck dropped, J.T. Miller dropped the gloves with Colton Parayko next and the Americans followed those fisticuffs with a 3-1 victory over their biggest rival. “That was one of the
Porto and AS Roma on Thursday drew 1-1 in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League playoff, while Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce took a big step toward the last 16 with a 3-0 win over RSC Anderlecht. Zeki Celic gave 2023 runners-up Roma the lead in first-half stoppage-time in Portugal, but Porto defender Francisco Moura’s deflected strike ensured the teams head to Italy next week with the tie finely poised. Roma played the final 18 minutes a man down after Bryan Cristante was sent off for two yellow cards, with coach Claudio Ranieri fuming at the final whistle. In Turkey, former English Premier