TDS Desk:

Tournament heavyweights Australia have moved a win closer to the knockout stage, overpowering Bangladesh in a shortened battle in Antigua.

Doing battle with Bangladesh in Antigua, both sides were eyeing off a positive start in phase two of the tournament.

The Aussies would have the last laugh, in a match that featured a hat-trick, quickfire 50 and too many rain interruptions.

Wet weather ultimately drew early curtains at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, but not before Aussie Pat Cummins produced a moment in the field he’ll never forget.

Mitchell Starc was the bowler handed the new ball, collecting an early breakthrough by bowling Tanzin Hasan Tamim with the third delivery of the innings. In doing so, Starc moved past Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga into outright first for wickets in Men’s World Cups – both ODI and T20Is.

Outside of an early breakthrough, though, Bangladesh enjoyed the better of the early exchanges.

The Aussies kept it tight enough, but the batting combination of Liton Das and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto lifted the Tigers back into a competitive position.

Shanto crunched Josh Hazlewood for a mega six to kickstart the fourth over, while two more boundaries next over had Bangladesh ticking over.

The partnership lasted through to the end of the Powerplay, with the Asian outfit reaching the six-over mark at 39/1.

Shanto took the reins as Bangladesh pushed past 50, before the stand finally ended when Adam Zampa spun one through Das in the ninth over.

The Tigers still had plenty of work to do at the innings midpoint, with Rishad Hossain giving away his wicket on the final ball before drinks – placing Bangladesh at 67/3.

Zampa then produced the next breakthrough, removing Shanto (41 off 36) 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 pulled one off in 2007 — also coincidentally 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.

Aussie openers David Warner and Travis Head commenced the chase with a ruthless mindset, going after the Bangladesh attack.

The pair raced away, both swifter than a run-a-ball, finding the boundary with ease and reaching the 50 mark to start the sixth over. A Warner maximum concluded Australia’s Powerplay with the side at 60/0.

Play then stopped, as another shower arrived, with the Aussies in control.

Following a minor delay, Bangladesh struck quickly, removing in-form hitter Head (31 off 21). Then Marsh was out quickly, handing the underdogs some much-needed momentum.

But Glenn Maxwell’s arrival instantly flipped the script, turning it on with Warner to push the Aussies past 100, right as another dose of rain arrived.

This shower proved more thorough than the others, with play eventually abandoned.

The Aussies sealed a first-up Super Eight win, finishing 28 runs ahead of par, via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method (DLS).

Australia and India are now both in prime positions to progress to the knockout stage, while Bangladesh will need wins against both India and Afghanistan to give themselves a genuine chance.