A rare meeting between Australia and Bangladesh will be the final group stage game for both these sides
Australia v Bangladesh: All you need to know
With Australia already locked in to playing South Africa in the semi-finals, the focus now comes down to keeping their winning streak going into the knockout phase of the tournament. Although Bangladesh are knocked out of World Cup semi-final contention, they still have Champions Trophy qualification to play for.
Match facts
Who: Australia v Bangladesh
When: Saturday November 11. Coin toss at 3:30pm AEDT, first ball at 4:00pm AEDT (10:30pm local)
Where: Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
How to watch: Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports and Nine/Gem/Go!/Rush
Officials: Ahsan Raza and Marais Erasmus (standing), Richard Illingworth (third), Richard Kettleborough (fourth)
Live scores: Match Centre
Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au, the CA Live app, the Unplayable Podcast
The Squads
Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Mehidy Miraz, Tawhid Hridoy, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Sakib, Tanzid Hasan, Mahmudullah Riyad, Anamul Haque
Australia are still yet to have a match where all 15 players from their squad have been available for selection after Steve Smith's battle with vertigo ruled him out of Tuesday's game against Afghanistan. He is expected to be right for Saturday but with nothing at stake for Australia in Pune, he and several others may be considered for a strategic rest before the cut-throat semi final.
Bangladesh have lost their skipper Shakib al Hasan with a fractured finger, with vice-captain Najmul Shanto the most likely candidate to take over. The Tigers haven't done too much shifting with their XI considering their poor results throughout the Cup, but now the need to replace both a batter and bowler in the absence of allrounder Shakib could cause some more drastic line up changes.
Local knowledge
The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium (or MCA Stadium as it is known) is just over a decade old, following its construction in 2012. It was the home ground of the Rising Pune Super Giants when they were introduced into the IPL in 2015, with Steve Smith and Adam Zampa two of their most successful players.
It's traditionally been a very batter-friendly pitch with scores around 300 about the average. In this tournament South Africa piled on 357 against New Zealand while India and Afghanistan chased 257 and 242 with ease respectively. Bangladesh had a look at this venue three weeks ago, when they were beaten by hosts India following a Virat Kohli century.
From a bowling point of view there's no discernible difference between the quicks and the spinners; in this World Cup the fast bowlers have taken 24 wickets at an economy rate of 5.77 while the slow bowlers have taken 12 at 5.23 runs per over.
Possible Starting XIs
Australia: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Mitch Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Adam Zampa
Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Tanzim Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam
Australia find themselves in the tricky position of potentially having a full squad to pick from but have the temptation of resting a few players ahead of the semi-final. In regards to giving players a break after a gruelling tournament (plus the lead in), coach Andrew McDonald said, "It's an individual approach. We've got to the position we put ourselves that allows us to get ready for the South African game."
Seven of the Australians have played all eight matches, including the four frontline bowlers, so it wouldn't be unexpected to see Sean Abbott be selected for his first game of the tournament. Both Steve Smith (vertigo) and Glenn Maxwell (full body cramps) could be available but with a healthy bench Australia may err on the side of caution.
Just how do you replace a player like Shakib al Hasan? That's what Bangladesh will have to figure out with their captain's World Cup over with a fractured finger. Mahedi Hasan could get a recall to bolster the spin stocks while Mahmudullah's rise up the order could continue, after starting the tournament batting at No.8. Key opener Litton Das has taken two "humanitarian" trips back to Dhaka during World Cup but is in Pune and available.
Recent form
Past 10 matches, most recent first. W: win, L: loss, N: no result
Australia: WWWWWWLLWL
It wasn't that long ago Australia's ODI form was looking patchy. Now with six wins in a row, and close victories against New Zealand and Afghanistan, it looks like they can't lose. A victory over Bangladesh will be vital to keep the momentum going into a crunch semi-final against South Africa.
Bangladesh: WLLLLLLWLLN
The Tigers snapped their losing streak with a highly-controversial win over fierce rivals Sri Lanka following Angelo Mathews' timed out dismissal. It's been a disappointing tournament for Bangladesh who promised plenty after their big win over Afghanistan at the start of the World Cup. They will be hoping their win over the Lankans is the spark they need to finish off strongly and secure a top-eight finish that would see them qualify for the next Champions Trophy.
World Cup Standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
IND
|
9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.57 | 0 | 18 |
|
2
SA
|
9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.261 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
AUS
|
9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.841 | 0 | 14 |
|
4
NZ
|
9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.743 | 0 | 10 |
|
5
PAK
|
9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.199 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
AFG
|
9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.336 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
ENG
|
9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.572 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
BAN
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.087 | 0 | 4 |
|
9
SL
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.419 | 0 | 4 |
|
10
NED
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.825 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
Last time they met
The last clash between these sides was at the World Cup over four years ago in a match that saw Australia win by 48 runs in Nottingham. David Warner smashed 166 as the Aussies amassed 5-381 before the Bangladeshis scored a respectable 8-333 in reply. Bangladesh legends Mushfiqur Rahim (102no) and Mahmudullah (69) were their side's top scorers and they will again be crucial figures in the match on Saturday.
Head-to-head
Overall: Australia (19 wins), Bangladesh (one win), no result (one)
Most runs: Adam Gilchrist (444), Michael Clarke (392), Mike Hussey (376)
Most wickets: Brad Hogg (18), Mitchell Johnson (16), Brett Lee (15), Mashrafe Mortaza (15)
Bangladesh have tasted victory over Australia only once in the ODI arena, way back in 2005 in a match that became infamous for Andrew Symonds' pre-match exploits. Since then it's been all Australia, with some huge margins of victory in the 14 matches since.
Rapid stats
· Adam Zampa has taken 20 wickets at the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and needs just four more to eclipse Muttiah Muralidaran (23 in 2007) for the most in a single edition of the tournament by a spin bowler.
· David Warner has scored 166 and 40no in his two career ODI innings against Bangladesh.
· Bangladesh will be looking to win back-to-back games at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup for the first time since March 2015 and just the third time ever after defeating Sri Lanka by three wickets in their most recent game at the tournament
· Bangladesh became the first team in international cricket to execute a timed out dismissal in their last match against Sri Lanka; Angelo Mathews was slow to take strike and captain Shakib al Hasan went through with his appeal, leaving the Sri Lankan veteran with the extremely rare dismissal.
Where to next?
Australia take on South Africa in the semi-final, which will almost certainly be in Kolkata at the legendary Eden Gardens. Now knocked out of the World Cup, Bangladesh's next assignment is a home series against New Zealand consisting of Tests, ODIs and T20s.
Australia's 2023 ODI World Cup fixtures
October 8: Lost to India by six wickets
October 12: Lost to South Africa by 134 runs
October 16: Beat Sri Lanka by five wickets
October 20: Beat Pakistan by 62 runs
October 25: Beat Netherlands by 309 runs
October 28: Beat New Zealand by five runs
November 4: Beat England by 33 runs
November 7: Beat Afghanistan by three wickets
November 11: v Bangladesh, Pune, 4pm AEDT
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa
2023 World Cup standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
IND
|
9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.57 | 0 | 18 |
|
2
SA
|
9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.261 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
AUS
|
9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.841 | 0 | 14 |
|
4
NZ
|
9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.743 | 0 | 10 |
|
5
PAK
|
9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.199 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
AFG
|
9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.336 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
ENG
|
9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.572 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
BAN
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.087 | 0 | 4 |
|
9
SL
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.419 | 0 | 4 |
|
10
NED
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.825 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points