T20 World Cup: Cummins claims hat-trick as Australia beat Bangladesh in rain-hit match

North Sound (Antigua):  Fast bowler Pat Cummins etched his name in the record books, becoming just the second Australian to claim a hat-trick in T20 World Cup match during his team’s victory over Bangladesh in the Super 8 clash on Friday (according to IST) at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

The Australian pacer reached a milestone by claiming three wickets across two separate overs. He took two wickets on the final two deliveries of his third over and then achieved the feat on the first ball of his last over, dismissing Towhid Hridoy, who was caught at short fine leg.

Cummins has now joined Brett Lee as Australian bowlers who have taken a hat-trick at a Men’s T20 World Cup. Lee achieved this feat against Bangladesh in the 2007 edition.

Overall, the Aussie joined an illustrious group of just seven players to have taken a hat-trick at a Men’s T20 World Cup, with Lee (2007), Curtis Campher (Ireland, 2021), Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka, 2021), Kagiso Rabada (South Africa, 2021), Karthik Meiyappan (UAE, 2022) and Josh Little (Ireland, 2022) the other bowlers to have done so previously.

The 31-year-old finished his spell with figures of 3-29 as Australia restricted Bangladesh to 140/8 after inviting them to bat first. In response, openers David Warner (53 not out) and Travis head (31) were all guns blazing in the run chase.

However, the game didn’t reach a proper conclusion due to rain. The Aussies secured a first Super Eight win, finishing 28 runs ahead of the par score via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method.

Batting first, Bangladesh suffered an early blow as Mitchell Starc bowled Tanzin Hasan 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, ICC reports.

Apart from the initial blow, Bangladesh dominated the early exchanges. While the Australians maintained a tight grip, Liton Das and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 58-run partnership rejuvenated the innings, propelling Bangladesh to a competitive position.

The partnership finally ended when Adam Zampa spun one through Das in the ninth over. Things for difficult for the Asian outfit with Rishad Hossain giving away his wicket on the final ball before drinks, placing Bangladesh at 67/3.

Zampa then made the next breakthrough by dismissing Shanto (41 off 36) at the end of the 13th over, putting significant pressure on the Bangladesh middle order. Towhid Hridoy (40 off 28) made a valiant effort to accelerate, helping his side reach three figures by 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, as Bangladesh were restricted to 140/8.

In the chase of 141, Warner and Head began aggressively, attacking the Bangladesh bowling lineup with a ruthless mindset. They quickly accumulated runs, consistently finding the boundary and reaching the 50-run mark by the sixth over. A maximum from Warner took powerplay score to 60/0.

Play then stopped, as another shower arrived, with the Aussies in control. Following a minor delay, Bangladesh struck quickly, removing Head. Then Mitchell Marsh was dismissed quickly, handing Bangladesh some much-needed momentum.

But Glenn Maxwell 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 Australia secured the win via the DLS Method after finishing 28 runs ahead of par.

Brief scores: Bangladesh 140/8 in 20 overs (Najmul Shanto 41, Towhid Hridoy 40; Pat Cummins 3-29, Adam Zampa 2-24) lost to Australia 100/2 in 11.2 overs (David Warner 53 not out, Travis Head 31) by 28 runs (via DLS)

–IANS