Marsh seals the deal
Taskin bangs one short, and Mitchell Marsh sees it early and swats it with immense power over midwicket for a big six. Australia wrap up victory in 6.2 overs, which means their net run rate is now 1.03, clear of South Africa's 0.74. Sometimes, a team just steps on the field and everything goes right for them. This was one of those times for Australia. What a day.
Deja vu for Bangladesh, except Australia gave them an even worse hiding today than South Africa did on Thursday. They've ended another T20 World Cup campaign without a single win in the main group stage. They have immense talent, as was evidenced by their victory at the Under-19 World Cup last year, but they have a lot to do to become a top-rung T20 team. Their biggest issue right now, and for a long time, is that they don't seem to have the power game for the format just yet. They'll go back and do a bit of reflection, and hopefully out of this misadventure can come some learnings that they'll build on in the near future.
Adam Zampa, as expected, is the Player of the Match. A maiden five-for for him, and he could have had a hat-trick too, had Matthew Wade not put down Taskin Ahmed. "I think I wouldn't have had as many wickets as I do had it not been for Wadey's hands," is Zampa's response when he's asked about that moment. Sweet.
Anyway, this group is now beautifully set up, between a flying England, and two teams chasing them manfullly in South Africa and Australia. West Indies still have the tiniest of chances too - they play Sri Lanka later tonight, so make sure you tune in for that.
That's all for me for now, as I go away and dash off the full match report. See ya!
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Warner goes
Another slog and miss, and David Warner is bowled by Shoriful Islam for 18 off 14. Australia are 67 for 2 in six overs.
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Finch does a Narine
This is what Sunil Narine does on his good days when he opens in franchise cricket. Go in with absolutely no fear of getting out, go hard at everything, and play short, high-impact innings. Given an NRR target to aim at, Aaron Finch swung at absolutely everything to get to 40 off 19 balls, and then he made a whole lot of room and swung at another to get bowled by Taskin Ahmed.
Australia are 58 for 1 in five overs.
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Australia well on course
David Warner comes to the party in the fourth over, driving and slashing Mustafizur Rahman for three off-side fours. In between all that, Finch whips a leg-side six as well, and Australia are now 44 for no loss. They need 28 in 4.1 overs to reach their NRR target.
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The slogathon is on
Finch is swinging at absolutely everything. A highly eventful second over. He hits a four through extra-cover off the inside half of the bat, and pings a big six over wide long-on, but there's also another wild slog and miss, and a flat-bat hit that Mustafizur Rahman can't convert into a caught-and-bowled. It was hit extremely hard, and he can't even put his hands together in time. Just smacks into his body in his follow-through. Australia are 16 for 0 in two overs.
Update - More intent from Finch in the third over, and a miscued leg-side whip from Finch just clears the leaping Soumya Sarkar, who's misjudged the flight of the ball and run in some 5-10 yards from deep midwicket.
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Are Australia going for the NRR target?
They certainly seem to be, but not with any great success in the first over. A pair of big swings and misses from Aaron Finch off Taskin Ahmed, and one pull that he doesn't time at all, just rolls apologetically into the leg side. Just four runs off that over, but the intent is clear.
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The NRR number
8.1 If Australia get to their target in 8.1 overs or earlier, their net run rate will go past South Africa's.
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Have your say
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Five-for!
And Zampa finishes the innings off in the same over. Another wrong'un to the left-hander, and Taskin slogs at it and edges to slip. Zampa finishes with figures of 4-0-19-5, and Bangladesh are bowled out for 73 with five entire overs left unused.
Zampa's figures are the best by an Australian bowler in the men's T20 World Cup. James Faulkner has taken their only other five-for so far, against Pakistan in 2016.
Quite a dismal display from Bangladesh. At no point did it seem like they'd have any sort of recovery, except perhaps a brief period when Shamim Hossain was at the crease. A lot of dismissals to shots that were neither defensive nor attacking, which could be seen as bad luck, maybe, but also perhaps batters being in two minds.
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Wade denies Zampa a hat-trick
...but he bags his fourth wicket anyway.
Let's start at the beginning. Zampa got Shamim and Mahedi off the last two balls of his third over. The first ball of his fourth is a loopy legbreak from over the wicket, dangled wide of off stump and inviting the left-handed Taskin Ahmed to go for the cover drive. He goes for it, edges it, and the ball pops out of Wade's gloves.
Three balls later, Mustafizur Rahman slogs him straight to long-on. Bangladesh are 73 for 9 in 14.4 overs.
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Starc gets the last recognised batter
Mahmudullah goes, and it's another weirdly soft dismissal for a T20 game. Just tickles a shortish ball off his hip, and Wade takes a good catch diving to his left behind the stumps.
Starc's angle from around the wicket played some part in that dismissal, and that also led the umpires to check if he had cut the return crease with his back foot. Went really wide of the crease, and it seemed like he was in trouble for a moment, but he jumped inwards and landed well inside the line.
It's 65 for 7 in 12.2 overs.
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Two in two
Mahedi Hasan rocks back to try and pull the first ball he faces, but it's the flipper - or some sort of front-of-the-hand skidder anyway - and it zips underneath his bat and smacks into his pad. He reviews, with the thought perhaps that the ball might be sliding down the leg side, but ball-tracking returns an umpire's call verdict on leg stump, so he has to walk back for a first-baller.
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Zampa ends the Shamim show
Not much of a show, to be honest, because he only ended up with 19 off 18, but it tells you all you need to know when that was the brightest spark in this innings. A topspinner from Zampa, or maybe a wrong'un with more topspin than sidespin, and the extra bounce grabs the top edge as he looks to cut. Bangladesh are 62 for 6 in 10.5 overs.
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The Shamim Hossain slog-sweep
He walked in at 33 for 5, but he's not been shy to play his shots. Two slog-sweeps so far, the first particularly notable because it was off Australia's fastest bowler, Starc. Down on his back knee and over mid-on for four. The second, hit with the turn off Zampa, gets into the gap between midwicket and deep square leg and just clears the boundary. It also brings up Bangladesh's 50, in the ninth over.
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Zampa strikes first ball
It's an absolute procession here. A repeat of what South Africa did to Bangladesh a couple of days ago. Lovely delivery from Adam Zampa first up, first ball after the powerplay. Tosses up a googly from over the wicket that pitches within the stumps, and the left-handed Afif Hossain looks to drive, and edges it to Aaron Finch, who's stationed himself at slip. As you would if your team were in this sort of dominant position. 33 for 5 after 6.1 overs, phew.
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32 for 4
Hazlewood bangs it in and gets it to hurry towards Mohammad Naim's throat. A cramped pull lobs gently to square leg, and Bangladesh are four down with three balls of the powerplay still left.
They'd just enjoyed a couple of bright moments before that, with Mahmudullah hitting Starc for a lovely short-arm pull through midwicket, and Naim driving Hazlewood back past the stumps at the other end for another four.
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10 for 3
Bangladesh are really up against it here. And they've not lost wickets to unplayable balls (Liton was looking to push a single into the off side - it wasn't one of Starc's most searing yorkers) or to ultra-aggressive T20 shots either. Now it's Mushfiqur Rahim, who looks to work a single from the crease, but Glenn Maxwell gets one to turn past his inside edge and trap him plumb. Mushfiqur doesn't even ask for a review. Struck him just in line with off stump as he shuffled across, and he was stuck on the crease, so there was no danger of the ball bouncing over or turning past leg stump.
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Another batter plays on
This time it's Soumya Sarkar. Typical Josh Hazlewood delivery from Josh Hazlewood. Angling across the left-hander from over the wicket, pitching just short of a length, and giving him no room. Tries to run it down to third, and only manages to chop it on. Bangladesh are 6 for 2 in two overs.
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Full, full, timber
It's taken Mitchell Starc three balls to break through. Three very full balls. Mohammad Naim blocks one, and inside-edges the second to fine leg for a single. Liton Das faces the third, and this one swings into him as well. Tries to jam his bat down but all he can do is inside-edge into his leg stump. Sometimes you know exactly what's coming but that makes it no easier to play it.
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History, of sorts
0 This is the first time Bangladesh are going into a T20 World Cup match without a left-arm spinner
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T20 Time Out - Live
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Australia bowl, bring back Mitchell Marsh
A no-brainer of a decision at the toss.
"If there's any moisture in it, it's in the first 4-5 overs, and we'll try to exploit it," says Aaron Finch.
Australia have brought back Mitchell Marsh for Ashton Agar. They've strengthened their batting at the expense of a spin option. Both are allrounders in name, but Marsh hasn't bowled all that much of late, and Agar hasn't done a whole lot with the bat of late.
"It's been tough in this tournament," says Mahmudullah. "We haven't played to the potential we have as a team, but it's our last opportunity, and we need to play for pride."
One change for Bangladesh too. No Nasum Ahmed, and Mustafizur Rahman returns. Both teams leave out a spinner then.
Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch (capt), 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood
Bangladesh: 1 Mohammad Naim, 2 Liton Das (wk), 3 Soumya Sarkar, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim, 5 Mahmudullah (capt), 6 Afif Hossain, 7 Shamim Hossain, 8 Mahedi Hasan, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Shoriful Islam
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Chase, always
7 Wins for chasing teams in eight T20 World Cup matches at this venue
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Plenty of runs, maybe, possibly?
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A very different Australia-Bangladesh
Australia have never won a T20 World Cup, and they’re currently in a bit of a tricky situation. They’ve won two of their three matches, but a heavy defeat to England has left them with a poor net run rate – minus 0.627, or more than a run per over worse off than that of their closest rivals for a semi-final spot, South Africa, who are at +0.742. It's a massive gap to bridge, so they'd ideally want not just to win this game and their last one, against West Indies, but they'll also hope England beat South Africa to ensure there's no tie on points.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, are winless after four games, and winless in the main group stage of T20 World Cups ever since the tournament moved to this format. Bangladesh trounced Australia 4-1 when they met recently in a T20I series, but that was in Bangladesh, and though conditions in the UAE aren’t hugely dissimilar, they aren’t as heavily loaded in favour of spin, and that’s been enough to expose Bangladesh’s limitations severely.
Can they maintain their recent stranglehold over (an admittedly much more full-strength) Australia, though, and end their tournament with a major spoiler result? Or will Australia get the win they so badly need? We'll find out very, very soon. Dubai is the venue for this key Group 1 clash.
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