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| July 1, 2005 | Friday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 23, 1426 |
Ponting and Clarke ensure victory for Aussies
CANTERBURY (England), June 30: Ricky Ponting helped Australia enjoy a successful warm-up for this weekend’s Triangular Series final after they beat Bangladesh by six wickets in the last group match of the event on Thursday.
The world champions, who face England in Saturday’s Lord’s showpiece, were faltering at 83 for three in pursuit of 251.
But Australia captain Ponting, who overcame a shaky start, set his side en route to a hard-won victory with 66 - the first time in the tournament he’d passed fifty.
Together with Michael Clarke he put on 85 for the fourth wicket
Clarke finished on 80 not out off 104 balls with one six and five fours while Andrew Symonds made an unbeaten 42 off 47 with a six and four fours.
The pair shared an unbroken stand of 86 as Australia, who finished on 254 for four, won with 11 balls to spare.
Symonds ended the match when he drove Mohammad Ashraful’s one ball for four.
Earlier, Australia were set for a crushing win having reduced Bangladesh to 75 for five inside 17 overs.
But they were unable to polish off the tail as the Tigers rallied to 250 for eight in 50 overs.
Shahriar Nafees with 75, his maiden one-day international fifty and Khaled Mashud, whose 71 not out was his career-best, frustrated Australia with a stand of 94.
Mashud and Khaled Mahmud, who made a run-a-ball 22, then riled Australia further with an eighth-wicket partnership of 57 in 49 balls.
All-rounder Shane Watson led the attack with three for 43 as wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist took six catches.
Matthew Hayden then fell for one when he was caught behind by Mashud off Mashrafe Mortaza.
However left-hander Gilchrist scored rapidly. But he was out in odd fashion on 45, walking after a Tapash Baisya delivery ended up in first slip Mahmud’s hands.
Replays suggested Gilchrist had not made any contact at all after the ball cut away sharply having landed in the footholds.
Damien Martyn (nine) went next when he was caught behind off Mahmud, Australia 83 for three at the end of the 15 over fielding restrictions.
Ponting, who survived several close lbw shouts during a scratchy start, and Clarke then kept Bangladesh at bay until the captain hooked Mortaza to deep mid-wicket where Tushar Imran took a well-judged catch.
Ponting faced 95 balls with five fours, his side now 168 for four.
Inserted in overcast, swing-friendly conditions Bangladesh collapsed to 19 for three inside seven overs.
Ashraful, Bangladesh’s hero with a run-a-ball hundred in their stunning five-wicket win against Australia in Cardiff 12 days ago, threatened with a magnificent pulled six off Lee.
But next ball Lee bowled Ashraful for seven with a low full toss.
Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar though hit back by taking four fours off Lee’s sixth over
Watson though had the skipper out for 30 when he gloved a delivery that flew off a length and Gilchrist took an acrobatic catch high above his head.
But left-hander Nafees stopped the rot. The 19-year-old, playing in only his fourth one-day international after making his debut earlier in the tournament, exhibited a sound technique lacking in many of his more experienced colleagues.
And he punished the bad ball pulled Watson through mid-wicket for four
But trying to run Watson down to third man he gave keeper Gilchrist the fourth of five catches in the innings having faced 116 balls with six fours.
Mashud though batted solidly for a 90-ball fifty with one four and before he holed out off Gillespie to Ponting at mid-wicket off the last ball of the innings.
Scoreboard
Bangladesh
Javed Omar c Gilchrist b Gillespie 0
Shahriar Nafees c Gilchrist b Watson 75
Tushar Imran b Lee 0
Mohammad Ashraful b Lee 7
Habibul Bashar c Gilchrist b Watson 30
Aftab Ahmed c Gilchrist b Kasprowicz 7
Khaled Mashud not out 71
M. Rafique c Gilchrist b Watson 15
Khaled Mahmud c Ponting b Gillespie 22
Extras (lb9, w8, nb6) 23
Total (8 wkts, 50 overs) 250
Fall of wkts: 1-8, 2-9, 3-19, 4-57, 5-75, 6-169, 7-193, 8-250
Did not bat: Mashrafe Mortaza, Tapash Baisya
Bowling: Lee 10-0-62-2 (1nb, 1w); Gillespie 9-0-49-2 (1nb, 3w); Watson 10-0-43-3 (2w); Kasprowicz 9-0-46-1 (4nb, 1w); Symonds 10-0-36-0 (1w); Clarke 2-1-5-0
Australia
A. Gilchrist c Mahmud b Baisya 45
M. Hayden c Mashud b Mortaza 1
R. Ponting c Imran b Mortaza 66
D. Martyn c Mashud b Mahmud 9
M. Clarke not out 80
A. Symonds not out 42
Extras (lb3, w5, nb3) 11
Total (4 wkts, 48.1 overs) 254
Fall of wkts: 1-15, 2-63, 3-83, 4-168
Did not bat: M Hussey, S Watson, B Lee, J Gillespie, M Kasprowicz
Bowling: Mortaza 9-0-44-2 (4w); Baisya 9-0-57-1 (2nb); Mahmud 10-0-54-1 (1nb); Ahmed 10-0-48-0; Rafique 10-0-44-0 (1w); Ashraful 0.1-0-4-0
Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK), Jeremy Lloyds (ENG)
TV umpire: Mark Benson (ENG)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL).—AFP
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