Australia’s Cummins discusses potential participation in IPL

Pune: Having sealed a semifinal berth, a dominant Australia will look to continue their rampaging run when they face a Shakib Al Hasan-less Bangladesh in their final assignment before the knockout stage of the World Cup here on Saturday.

The five-time champions have been simply unstoppable, stream-rolling any team that has come their way in the last six meetings, while

Bangladesh suffered the ignominy of being the first team to be eliminated from the ongoing showpiece.

Pat Cummins and Co. stormed into the semifinals on the back of one of the greatest ODI innings played by Glenn Maxwell. The all-rounder battled cramps to smash an unbeaten 201 off 128 balls to lift Australia from a precarious 91 for seven to the victory target of 292 against Afghanistan.

Bangladesh just about managed to keep their 2025 Champions Trophy qualification hopes alive with a three-wicket win over Sri Lanka in an ill-tempered game which was overshadowed by the contentious ‘timed-out’ dismissal of Angelo Mathews.

The top eight teams will make the cut for the 2025 event and eighth-placed Bangladesh will be desperate to win to hold on to their position inside top 8 in the standings. Skipper Shakib was the top performer in their last match as he snapped two wickets, ignited the spirit of cricket debate by appealing against Mathews.