Australia won by 8 wkts
PLAYER OF THE MATCH : Mitchell Marsh
Batter
Bowler
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Australia might have had a wobbly start to their campaign, but they now walk into the semis with seven successive wins. Be it the individual brilliance of the Big Show, or the magical spinning web of Zampa, they found a way. That's what Australia do in world tournaments, right? It's going to be a repeat of the 1999 semi-final (AUS v SA) then. How many of you remember that famous game from Birmingham? If we can get anywhere close to the thrills and spills of that encounter, it would be an absolute treat. We have officially reached the final hurrah now. One final league game tomorrow and then onto the knock-out week. But before all of that, Pakistan are chasing 338 against England in Kolkata. Can they finish off with a win? Switch tabs and follow all the action from that game. Cheers!!
Pat Cummins | Australia skipper: It feels great. We thought it was a really good wicket and thought we could get that total. All 15 players have played this tournament now and we go up to Kolkata, re-assess and perhaps a few selection headaches there. He (Mitchell Marsh) played beautifully and the tempo he played with was sustainable and the way he finished off the innings, it's a scary prospect to have him next week. 7 games in a row, I think chasing 300 was something really special and everything is clicking together.
Najmul Hossain Shanto | Bangladesh skipper: I think the two run-outs (which changed the momentum). We got off to a good start but lost momentum because of those run-outs. If we had scored 340-350 it would have been different. Our fast bowlers bowled really well but the spinners weren't as effective in the middle overs, we want to improve our bowling in the middle overs. It's disappointing, we didn't play our best this tournament. We will see what we can do better from now. Mahmuduallah batted really well in this World Cup and Shakib also bowled well in a couple of games. We have to improve as a team. It is not about individual performances, we want to look at the 9 games and work on areas we need to improve.
Stat nuggets served by Shashikant Singh:
Worst bowling averages in a World Cup edition (min. 60 overs bowled):
129.5 - Daniel Vettori in 2003 WC
106.6 - Dion Nash in 1999 WC
79.6 - Mustafizur Rahman in 2023 WC*
69.3 - Rashid Khan in 2019 WC
63.6 - M Theekshana in 2023 WC
Most sixes for Australia in a World Cup innings:
10 - Glenn Maxwell vs AFG, Wankhede, 2023
9 - David Warner vs PAK, Bengaluru, 2023
9 - Mitchell Marsh vs PAK, Bengaluru, 2023
9 - Mitchell Marsh vs BAN, Pune, today*
Highest partnership for Australia vs Bangladesh in ODIs:
192 - U Khawaja & D Warner, Nottingham, 2019
175* - Mitchell Marsh & Steve Smith, Pune, today*
170 - Ricky Ponting & Shane Watson, Mirpur, 2011
Most runs conceded by a BAN bowler in a World Cup game:
86 - Abdur Razzak vs SL, Port of Spain, 2007
85 - Nasum Ahmed vs AUS, Pune, today*
83 - Rubel Hossain vs AUS, Nottingham, 2019
82 - Taskin Ahmed vs SL, Melbourne, 2015
Highest individual scores against Bangladesh in WCs:
177* - Mitchell Marsh, Pune, today*
175 - Virender Sehwag, Mirpur, 2011
174 - Quinton de Kock, Wankhede, 2023
166 - David Warner, Nottingham, 2019
Highest individual scores for Australia in WCs:
201* - Glenn Maxwell vs AFG, Mumbai WS, 2023
178 - David Warner vs AFG, Perth, 2015
177* - Mitchell Marsh vs BAN, Pune, today*
166 - David Warner vs BAN, Nottingham, 2019
Most runs by an Australian batsman in ODI WC:
1743 - Ricky Ponting (42 inns)
1491 - David Warner (27 inns)
1102 - Steven Smith (28 inns)*
1085 - Adam Gilchrist (31 inns)
1004 - Mark Waugh (22 inns)
Highest target successfully chased by Australia in WCs:
307 vs BAN, Pune, today*
292 vs AFG, Wankhede, 2023
287 vs NZ, Chennai, 1996
272 vs SA, Leeds, 1999
Highest target chased against Bangladesh in ODIs:
327 by Pakistan, Mirpur, 2014
307 by Australia, Pune, today*
306 by England, The Oval, 2017
304 by Zimbabwe, Harare, 2022
Mitchell Marsh | Player of the Match: It feels great, obviously to finish off the league games with another win was great for the boys. It was important for me to back myself at 3, knowing when Head comes back, I'll have to go down to 3. Have failed a few times, but have backed myself to perform. Sure my mum and dad would be watching back home and they would be happy with this, my grandpop (who passed away last week) was a great man and I'm sure he'd be happy out there. I think we're peaking well at the moment and looking forward to the semi-finals in Kolkata. It's rare that you'd win the Man of the Match award after going for nearly fifty from 4 overs, but I would want to contribute more to the team.
18:05 local, 12:35 GMT, 18:05 IST: Right from the onset, this surface looked like a batting belter. Even if Bangladesh posted a total in excess of 400, this, could have still perhaps turned out to be not-so-challenging chase for Australia. It (the surface) was that good. Also, this Australia's highest successful run chase in their World Cup history. Although Travis Head fell cheaply, Warner and Marsh were in no mood to miss out on a beauty of a batting deck. The former opening pair combined for a 120-run stand for the second wicket and Warner's wicket was a result of series of dots that Bangladesh built prior to his dismissal. Steve Smith did what he usually does, and allowed Marsh to play his natural game. Not only Mitch Marsh compile his highest ODI score, but he remained not out which would have pleased a lot of his best critics. It was an absolute clinic. The front foot assurance, playing through the line, targetting the short square boundaries and sweeping the ball for fun. All in all, Mitch Marsh made batting look so easy and smooth. And the run-chase, even smoother..
Mustafizur to Smith, FOUR, that's that. Game over. Australia win by 8 wickets and finish third in the league stage. Smith lofts a full delivery over mid-on and sets up a semi-final date with South Africa at the Eden Gardens next Thursday.
Mustafizur to Mitchell Marsh, 1 run, slower back of a length delivery on middle and leg, Marsh heaves the pull to the left of deep square
Mustafizur to Smith, 1 run, pitched up outside off, Smith forces the drive to long-off
Mustafizur to Mitchell Marsh, 1 run, full and wide of off, Marsh belts the drive to the left of sweeper cover