Australia 133 for 1 (Hayden 67*, Gilchrist 54) beat Bangladesh 129 (Kapali 45, Gillespie 3-20) by 9 wickets
Scorecard

Bangladesh's baptism of fire in the international arena continued when they were handed a nine-wicket drubbing by Australia at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.

The Australian bowlers set up the easy victory, dismissing Bangladesh for a paltry 129. Their batsmen, led by Matthew Hayden, ensured that the match ended quickly, with a whopping 29.2 overs to spare, giving their team-mates more time to pack for their brief trip to the Maldives before Australia meet Sri Lanka in the semi-final on September 25.

Khaled Masud called correctly in the morning, but the toss was about the only thing that went right for his team. Bangladesh's batting was shockingly brittle at the start and finish – their first four wickets put together 13, while their last four fell for 11 – and it required some spirited batting in the middle by Tushar Imran, Masud and Alok Kapali to prevent complete humiliation.

The SSC has built a reputation as a low-scoring venue over the last year. Zimbabwe were bowled out for 38 against Sri Lanka – the lowest-ever one-day score - while Bangladesh's 76, made less than two months ago, was their lowest total. Both records seemed under threat early today.

The procession started in Jason Gillespie's first over. His second ball trapped Al-Shahriar Rokon for a duck, and two deliveries later, Habibul Bashar was trudging back after a dreadful waft outside off gave Adam Gilchrist a regulation catch behind the stumps (0 for 2).

Javed Omar (4) and Mazharul Haque (3) left soon after, and Australia would have been eyeing a pre-lunch finish. But Bangladesh's lower-middle order showed far more gumption than the top, and encouragingly for their long-term prospects, the two best efforts of the innings came from players who aren't yet 20.

Imran stroked five fours in his 27 – none better than a glorious on-drive off Brett Lee – and added 36 for the fifth wicket with Masud, who compiled a dour 22, from 69 balls. Imran got out in disappointing fashion, chipping a drive off a Brett Lee delivery – which replays indicated was a no-ball – to Michael Bevan at cover (49 for 5).

Kapali kept the innings going with another 36-run partnership with Masud, before Shane Warne bowled Masud round his legs (85 for 6). Only 18 years old, Kapali displayed fine temperament and skill in nurdling the singles and eschewing risks.

A total in the vicinity of 150 was on, but Kapali chopped a delivery from Lee onto his stumps for 45. With the tail offering little resistance, Australia had the pleasant task of scoring at an asking rate of 2.60 to win.

Hayden, though, wasted little time in getting stuck into the hapless Bangladeshi attack, spanking two boundaries from his first three balls off Manjural Islam. He was on the receiving end again when Hayden hoicked a full-toss over midwicket for six. Tapash Baisya fared no better, being tonked for consecutive fours as Hayden waltzed down the pitch. The confidence of averaging 154 in his last five matches showed quite clearly.

Gilchrist struggled for timing early on, but grew in confidence against a friendly attack, posting his half-century from 44 balls. He was finally trapped in front for 54 (113 for 1) but, by then, the crowd was already preparing for a mouth-watering semi-final clash between Australia and Sri Lanka.

S Rajesh is sub editor of Wisden.com in India.

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