Australia v Bangladesh, ICC CT 2017: After Tamim Iqbal's one-man show, Starc polishes tail, Australia need 183

AUS v BAN, ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Finally it was Mitchell Starc who polished off the tail, at a stage he had 3 wickets off 4 balls

Australia are taking on Bangladesh today at the Oval in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. Bangladesh lost their last encounter and Australia shared points with New Zealand in a rain-washed match. Hence, todays match is equally important for both the teams. Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first on a placid wicket, where the sun was beating down hard. Bangladesh got off to a slow start and just when they were contemplating to shift gears, Soumya Sarkar departed for 3, Imrul Kayes followed pursuit he went for 6 and Bangladesh were reeling at 37 for 2 when captain Mushfiqur Rahim joined Tamim Iqbal, who was well-set. They got the innings motoring along but soon Mushfiqur Rahim got out, a decision that looked could have gone the other way. He went for 9. Bangladesh were 53 for 3, looking down the barrel with just Tamim Iqbal, the shining armour.

Wickets were falling around Tamim but he held fort. Shakib and Tamim had got a partnership going, Shakib was on 29 when he finally made way in Adam Zampa’s first over. Shabbir and Mahmadullah departed soon for 8 each. Bangladesh at that stage were reduced to 156 for 6, but Tamim Iqbal was still there as the saving grace, he continued the single-handed show, but finally departed just 5 runs shy of a historic ton.

It was the 43rd over and Bangladesh were 181, looking to get anything in excess of 200. The Australians were thorough professionals, with Josh Hazlewood finishing with a wicket for 40 runs in his quota of ten overs.

Finally it was Starc who polished off the tail, at a stage he had 3 wickets off 4 balls. He could have got a hat-trick, but he missed it by centimeters. Starc ended with four wickets and was the pick of their bowlers. Bangladesh folded for a paltry 182, Australia will need 183 when they chase on a good wicket, they should get it on a canter.

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