T20 WC: Pat Cummins’ stellar hat-trick helps Australia restrict Bangladesh to 140/8 in Super 8 clash

North Sound [Antigua and Barbuda], : Despite Najmul Hossain Shanto’s fighting 41 and Towhid Hridoy’s blitz cameo of 40 runs, Pat Cummins’ stellar hat-trick helped Australia restrict Bangladesh to 140/8 in their Super 8 clash of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Thursday .

For Australia, Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa were the stand-out bowlers with five wickets among them. Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, and Glenn Maxwell chipped in with one apiece. Only Towhid Hridoy remained around in the middle and delivered some ferocious smashes to propel his team to the 140-run mark.

Opted to bowl first, Mitchell Starc, like he often does, made an early breakthrough by casting Tanzin Hasan on the third ball of the innings. In doing so, Starc surpassed Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga for the most wickets in Men’s World Cups, both ODIs and T20Is.

Outside of an early breakthrough, Bangladesh had the better of the early exchanges. The Australians kept the game close, but Liton Das and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s batting put the Tigers back in contention to set a competitive score.

Shanto crushed Josh Hazlewood for a massive six to start the fourth over, and two fours in the fifth over kept Bangladesh ticking along. The partnership lasted until the end of the Powerplay when the Asian outfit hit the fix-over mark at 39/1. Shanto took over when Bangladesh passed 50, and the stand ended when Adam Zampa twisted one through Das in the ninth over.

At the halfway point of the game, Rishad Hossain lost his wicket on the last delivery before the drinks, leaving Bangladesh on 67/3.

Bangladesh kept losing wickets at regular intervals and failed to build partnerships in the middle.

Zampa made the breakthrough, removing Shanto to end over 13, placing major pressure on the Bangladesh middle order.

Towhid Hridoy tried hard to push the pace, dragging his side’s total into three figures in the 16th over.

Pat Cummins collected two quick scalps to end Australia’s 18th over and then removed Hridoy upon return to start over 20, completing the tournament’s first hat-trick. It capped off a strong fightback for Cummins with the ball, finishing with figures of 29/3 off his four overs. He becomes the second Aussie to take a hat-trick in a T20 World Cup match after Brett Lee also pulled one off against Bangladesh.

Hridoy’s 40 off 28 balls was a handy contribution, though, helping steer the Tigers to a total of 140, for the loss of eight wickets.

Brief score: Bangladesh 140/8 vs Australia.

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