AUS VS BAN - 5th Match, Group A, ICC Champions Trophy, 2017

Australia vs Bangladesh

No result

AUS -83/1 (15.6)

BAN -182/10 (44.3)

Batter

R
B
4s
6s
SR
40
44
2
0
90.91
22
25
1
0
88

Bowler

O
M
R
W
ECO
6
0
30
0
5

Five games into the Champions Trophy and we have had two washouts. Australia have been part of both those games. With only two points from two, they are in a must-win situation when take on England in their final encounter. On the other hand, Bangladesh still have a chance and it will depend upon other results. So, Group A might as well be determined by how the weather plays for the coming week. Time to hit the sack. Another cracker coming up tomorrow - England versus New Zealand, that is if rain permits and to be honest, it does not look very promising. For now, on behalf of my fellow commentators, Vineet Anantharaman, Sagar Chawla, Abhinand Raghavendran, MS Ramakrishnan and scorer Praveen chintalapudi, this is Akshay Maanay calling it a night.

Last seven results for Australia in CT league matches:
NR. W. L. NR. L. NR. NR (last)

***

Mortaza: Australia were unlucky, while on the other hand, we are lucky to stay alive in the tournament. Not the way we like to, but we can't do anything. This point will help us a lot. We have to play a harder game. We recently beat New Zealand in Ireland, so you never know. We knew it was always going to be hard. Tamim batted well, but there was no support. Their bowlers were up to the mark. Tamim was phenomenal today and hopefully he will continue and other batsmen can support him.

Smith: It was disappointing not to get a game in today. We were heading down a pretty good path. Disappointing not to get a result. It is a virtual quarterfinal now. Tough match, but a simple equation. They were much better today, hit some good areas and challenged the Bangladeshi batsmen. All of them bowled extremely well to restrict them to 180. Time in the middle is always valuable. Can't do much about the weather and now we have to move on from here. They were two left-hand batters for a long time and there was a strong breezy blowing as well. I thought Head bowled quite well. So it was simple to get Zampa on as soon as a right-hander came in.

Earlier in the day, the Australian bowlers answered their captain's strong comments after the New Zealand game with a spirited bowling performance. Hazlewood and Cummins kept it tight in the beginning and Starc unleashed himself upon the tail, ending with a 4-fer. Only Tamim showed any sort of application for Bangladesh as he followed up his hundred against England with a 114-ball 95.

Australia surprised most of us with their sturdy approach. When everyone expected them to come all guns blazing, Warner and Finch employed a more cautious strategy. They were willing to get their eye in and then take on the bowlers rather than go berserk. Smith's gameplan was also similar when he came in at the fall of Finch. The only reason for that kind of ploy might be that they thought it was near impossible to chase down 183 in whatever overs were possible before the rain interruption.

21:19 Local Time, 20:19 GMT, 01:49 IST: And that is that. The game has been abandoned. What luck for Australia! Survived one against New Zealand and came out with a point, and here where they were on course for a victory, they have to settle with one point. However, what it means is - Australia and Bangladesh are both still in contention for a semifinal berth.

Naveen: "What is the latest time for the match to be called off?" 9.59pm local, 2.29am IST

20:51 Local Time, 19:51 GMT, 01:21 IST: "Raining pretty hard now. I'd say that will be that I'm afraid," is the latest Tristan pings to say. That's news - good or bad depending on which side you belong.

NKO: "Is it raining now?" Yes.

hridoy: "If Bangladeshi bowler bowled 50-60 wide instead of completing 4 overs is it right or wrong?" Now that sounds like a plan

Sourav Poddar: "What if they played cricket instead of Quidditch at Hogwarts!!" They'd be sweeping a lot. Get that? Get that? OK that's the last one. Don't blame me guys, the rain has returned

20:17 Local Time, 19:17 GMT, 00:47 IST: Well all that excitement has gone to waste. The rain is back and so are the groundsmen with the covers. Restart at 20:30 looks unlikely for now. The wait will have to continue.. "Few of the Bangladeshi fans cheer as the covers come back on," states Tristan.

20:12 Local Time, 19:12 GMT, 00:42 IST: Hurrah! We have great news. Restart at 20:30 local. It will be a shortened game, but we are awaiting the confirmation of the overs lost. The game has been reduced to 43 overs. The target for Australia is 172, which means they require 89 runs from 27 overs.

Manohar Samuel: "Are u a wizard @Cricbuzz?" We are so busted. I've finally decided to close platform 9 3/4 for now. Back to the cricket

20:00 Local Time, 19:00 GMT, 00:30 IST: The umpires are making their way out to the middle. Darren Lehmann, the Australian coach, is out there with some of the substitutes. Most of the covers are off. The pitch is still under cover though. Llong, Gaffaney and Ravi are having a word with the groundsmen. Meanwhile, Warner is warming up in the dressing room.

Ravi Shankar: "If it doesn't stop raining.... it will be AVADA KEDAVRA Australia!!!!"It has stopped raining actually as my muggle friends inform

19:40 Local Time, 18:40 GMT, 00:10 IST: Well, here is the good news. The rain has stopped and all the main covers are being peeled off. The umpires are also out in the middle to inspect the conditions. If it remains this way, we should have play soon. "Umpires have confirmed there will be a further inspection at 8pm, which is in 20 minutes' time," Tristan updates.

19:35 Local Time, 18:35 GMT, 00:05 IST: The live pictures show that the rain has steadied down and the groundsmen are on the field. The first task for them will be to get the water off the covers, which they have started to do. Hopefully we will have some good news soon.

Sai Reddy: "Protego Maxima works only when cast in combination of Fianto Duri and Repello Inimicum. Get yourself ready with the wands." Clearly I've got some brushing up to do

19:23 Local Time, 18:23 GMT, 23:53 IST: "Still raining, albeit lightly. The latest we can restart in order to squeeze in the four overs we need for a completed game is 9.59pm. That's still two and a half hours away," pings Tristan.

Amin: "Remember Tamil Nadu? Thermocol is the way to go :D" I completely got that

Avilash: "Shoot Sulfuric acid in powdered form in the sky. It will absorb all the moisture out of the sky." I'd rather build an invisible roof using 'protego maxima'

Duke Meister: "Stadiums with sliding roofs is the obvious option. The Wembley stadium has it, so pretty sure it's not impossible. England and the ECB must do this for the future of English Cricket and World Cricket. Some clever architecture can provide for natural wind and aerodynamics like the Chepauk stadium." Although the Wembley roof doesn't completely close, I see your point. Massive infrastructure costs though I would imagine

18:43 Local Time, 17:43 GMT, 23:13 IST: It was drinks time, but umpire Llong instead calls for the covers. Would have been ridiculous had drinks been taken at this stage. We are four overs away from getting a result and Australia are well ahead of the DLS score, which is 39 for 16 overs. There is a strong wind blowing across the ground as the pitch is being covered. The Bangladeshi fans are still enthusiastic as they try to grab the attention of some of the players. Hope that we get a small window of play, just enough to complete the match. Keep those fingers crossed!

END OF OVER 16

1 Runs

AUS: 83 - 1

1 0 0 0 0 0

David Warner

40 (44)

Steven Smith

22 (25)

Mortaza

6-0-30-0

15.6

Mortaza to Smith, no run, another front foot block from Smith

15.5

Mortaza to Smith, no run, good length ball on off, Smith is happy to block it into the off-side ring

It is getting heavier now..

15.4

Mortaza to Smith, no run, top of off stuff from the Bangladeshi skipper, Smith blocks back to the Mortaza