World T20: Australia narrowly survive Bangladesh scare

BANGALORE: Australia claimed their first points of the ICC World Twenty20 with a streaky chase reminiscent of their collapse in Dharamsala last week, just managing to get across the line against Bangladesh on Monday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, successfully chasing 157 with nine deliveries remaining. Well placed at 115/2 at the start of the 14th over, Australia lost five wickets in a hurry to set a tense finish, which was possible thanks to James Faulkner keeping his cool amid the glut.
Bangladesh claimed seven wickets, most dramatically 5/37 between the 14th and 18th overs, but Faulkner was the wicket they couldn't grab. It was always going to be a tough ask from an attack missing Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny, and instead featuring two replacements who landed in India only yesterday, yet Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib Al Hasan shared five wickets to almost make up for the handicaps. They came close, and will rue not making better use of a good batting deck.
Put in to bat by Steven Smith, Bangladesh's batsmen struggled early in the piece and never managed to break the shackles, with only Mahmudullah (49* off 29 balls) proving a noticeable irritant to Australia. Following Shane Watson's double-strike inside the Powerplay overs, the rookie legspinner Adam Zampa claimed his first T20I wickets to finish with the best figures of the match - a very important 3/23, as the end result proved.
Australia's pace quotient controlled the Powerplay, bowling 16 dots in the first six overs while conceding just three fours. Nathan Coulter-Nile was impressive with his seam-up deliveries during a very economical first spell of 3-0-9-0 but it was Watson who struck the first two blows - much to the Chinnaswamy fans' pleasure, considering this will be his new IPL home. Soumya Sarkar cut Watson's second delivery straight to point, and then after a two-over break when the allrounder returned, Sabbir Rahman charged at him immediately and found a diving James Faulkner at mid-on.
From 33/2 in the Powerplay, Bangladesh progressed in fits and starts with Zampa's variety of legspin proving a major deterrent. Mohammad Mithun made 17 out of a stand of 37 in 25 balls before he pulled Zampa to Watson in the deep, and the legspinner then added Shuvagato Hom (13) lbw. Zampa's third T20I wicket was Shakib Al Hasan for 33, undone by a little bit of bounce as he made room to hammer towards deep extra cover.
Zampa's four overs were particularly impressive considering he was bowled by Smith for just one over against New Zealand in Dharamsala, having conceded just three runs in it. Not a big spinner of the ball, it was the 23-year-old New South Welshman's control and appetite for tossing the ball up that stood out. The last three overs produced 44 runs, with Mahmudullah ending one short of a deserved fifty, but it wasn't enough to stop Australia in the end.
Usman Khawaja dominated the early part of the chase, scoring 36 of the 51 scored in the first six overs through gorgeous footwork complimented by clean hitting. In three consecutive balls bowled by Shakib, the left-hander displayed his array: a whiplash past midwicket, an inside-out drive over extra cover and a ferocious sweep. All four shots found the boundary.
Watson, dropped on 13 off Mustafizur, made 21 before he was run out and the same bowler, on return to the side, gave Bangladeshi fans reason to shout when he bowled Smith for 14. Australia's batsmen appeared keen to finish the chase in a hurry and that kept Bangladesh in the chase. Khawaja, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell all fell trying to hurry the result, with Mustafizur (2/30) and Shakib (3/27) the beneficiaries of their aggression. With each wicket that fell, Bangladesh spirits soared but Faulkner (5*) averted an upset.
Brief scores: Australia 157/7 in 18.3 overs (Usman Khawaja 58) beat Bangladesh 156/5 in 20 overs (Mahmudullah 49*, Adam Zampa 3/23) by three wickets