ODI World Cup 2023: Australia vs Bangladesh, 43rd ODI - Who Said What?

Australia and Bangladesh crossed swords in match 43 of the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023, at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, on Saturday, November 11.

Pat Cummins won the toss and decided to bowl first. Steve Smith returned to the playing XI after missing the last game, while Sean Abbott made his ODI World Cup debut. Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc were rested for this inconsequential clash. Shakib Al Hasan, who was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a finger injury in the last game against Sri Lanka, was replaced by Nasum Ahmed. Mahedi Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman also returned to the side.

Bangladesh got off to a flying start as Litton Das and Tanzid Hasan scored 76 runs in 11.2 overs. Stand-in captain Najmul Hossain Shanto looked good during his knock of 45 but was unfortunately run out. Towhid Hridoy came out to bat at No. 4 and played a brilliant knock of 74 off 79 balls. Handy contributions from Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz helped Bangladesh get to a fine score of 306/8 in 50 overs. Adam Zampa stood out with excellent figures of 2/32 in his 10 overs. Abbott was expensive but he also picked up a couple of wickets, while Marcus Stoinis chipped in with the wicket of Hridoy.

In reply, Australia lost Travis Head in the third over as he dragged one onto the stumps off the bowling of Taskin Ahmed. However, Mitchell Marsh and the in-form David Warner stitched a 123-run partnership off 102 balls to take Australia to a commanding position. The southpaw departed for 53 off 61 balls but Marsh continued annihilating the Bangladeshi bowlers en route to a scintillating century. In fact, he didn't relent after getting to his hundred. Marsh went on to score 177* off 132 balls, while Steve Smith remained unbeaten on 63 off 64 balls as the 'Men in Yellow' won by eight wickets with 5.2 overs to spare.

Losing Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto said:

(Where things went wrong today) I think for me the two run outs were crucial. The way we started was good but after the two run outs, we lost momentum. If we score 340-350, it could have been different. We did not bowl well in the middle overs (the spinners especially). The fast bowlers bowled well. We need to improve in the middle overs. We did not play our best at the World Cup as a team, in both bowing and batting. Want to look at what we can do better moving forward. Mahmudullah batted really well in the World Cup. Shakib bowled really well in a couple of matches. It is not about individual performances. We will look back at all nine matches and see where we have to improve as a team.

Winning Skipper Pat Cummins said:

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.

POTM Mitchell Marsh said:

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.