Australia wins toss and will field against Bangladesh at Cricket World Cup

Australia's captain Pat Cummins reacts after a delivery during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup match between Australia and Bangladesh in Pune, India, on November 11, 2023. (AP)
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Updated 11 November 2023
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Australia wins toss and will field against Bangladesh at Cricket World Cup

  • It is the first of two matches on the penultimate day of the round-robin portion of the tournament
  • Pakistan will play England later at Kolkata and require a huge win in order to move into semifinal

Semifinal-bound Australia won the toss and will bowl first against Bangladesh in the Cricket World Cup at Pune, India on Saturday.
It was the first of two matches on the penultimate day of the round-robin portion of the tournament. Fifth-place Pakistan played England later at Kolkata, with Pakistan needing a huge win in order to move into top-four semifinal consideration on net run rate.
Australia made two changes. Glenn Maxwell, double-century hero of its win over Afghanistan in Mumbai, was rested, as was pace bowler Mitchell Starc. Fit-again Steve Smith and pacer Sean Abbott were included in the playing 11.
Vice-captain Najmul Hossain Shanto leads Bangladesh, with left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed included. It has made two other changes — pacer Mustafizur Rahman and batting all-rounder Mahedi Hasan also come in for bowlers Tanzim Hasan Shakib and Shoriful Islam.
India will try to remain the only perfect team in the tournament by winning its ninth straight match when it plays the Netherlands at Bengaluru on Sunday. It will be the 45th and final match of the preliminary stage which began Oct. 5 and featured all 10 teams playing the others once.
Second-place South Africa finished with 14 points from seven wins in nine games. Australia can overtake the Proteas for second spot if they beat Bangladesh on Saturday by a big margin, but regardless they will still play each other in the semifinals at Kolkota next Thursday.
India is set to face fourth-place New Zealand in the first semifinal in Mumbai on Wednesday unless Pakistan can overhaul the Black Caps by beating England by a convincing margin and substantially improve its net run-rate.
The final is set for next Sunday, Nov. 19, at Ahmedabad’s 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium, the largest cricket venue in the world.
On Saturday, the ICC said that with six matches to go, more than a million fans had attended the tournament. It said the millionth fan came through the turnstiles during the match between Afghanistan and South Africa at Ahmedabad on Friday, a match the Proteas won by five wickets.

LINEUPS

Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.

Australia: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins (captain), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood


Pepper, Narine lead Abu Dhabi Knight Riders to ILT20 Qualifier 2 with win over Dubai Capitals

Updated 01 January 2026
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Pepper, Narine lead Abu Dhabi Knight Riders to ILT20 Qualifier 2 with win over Dubai Capitals

  • The win sets up a Qualifier 2 clash with MI Emirates on Friday, with a place in Sunday’s final against Desert Vipers at stake

DUBAI: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders moved one win away from the International League T20 final after sealing a commanding 50-run victory over Dubai Capitals in the Eliminator at Dubai International Stadium on Thursday.

An impressive 122-run opening partnership between Michael Pepper and Phil Salt laid the foundation for the Knight Riders, before a disciplined bowling display, led by Sunil Narine, Jason Holder and Liam Livingstone, dismantled the Capitals’ chase.

The win sets up a Qualifier 2 clash with MI Emirates on Friday, with a place in Sunday’s final against Desert Vipers at stake.

Pepper continued his fine form with a fluent 72 off 49 deliveries, striking seven fours and three sixes, while Salt contributed 43 off 34 as the Knight Riders surged to 122 without loss.

Although the Capitals fought back strongly with the ball to restrict Abu Dhabi to 158/7, a late cameo from Holder (22 off 11) ensured a competitive total.

In reply, the Capitals never recovered from a bruising start as Abu Dhabi’s bowlers applied relentless pressure.

Holder struck early, Narine dominated through the powerplay and middle overs, and Livingstone delivered key blows as the Capitals were bundled out for 108. Narine, Holder and Livingstone finished with three wickets apiece.

Player of the match Narine said: “Winning games changes everything, it means a lot. We haven’t made the playoffs in three years, and that’s something we’ve been pushing hard for. It’s emotional because we’ve played good cricket before without getting the results.”

Dubai Capitals captain Mohammad Nabi was philosophical in defeat.

“At one point it looked like they might get close to 200, but we did well to pull things back with the ball. With the bat, though, we weren’t good enough as a unit,” he said.

“There wasn’t excessive turn, but they bowled very well to their areas. The plan was to rotate strike and avoid early wickets, but it didn’t come off.”