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Cricket World Cup matchday 33: Bangladesh face must-win clash with in-form India

Cricket World Cup matchday 33: Bangladesh face must-win clash with in-form India
© Reuters
India can pip Australia to first place but their opponents need two wins to keep themselves in the tournament.

India will chase top spot in the World Cup group stage on Tuesday against a Bangladesh team who must win to keep their hopes of qualification alive.

Edgbaston is the venue for a vital clash between the only teams still with two games to play.

India, who have seen Vijay Shankar follow Shikhar Dhawan in being ruled out for the rest of the tournament by injury, need one more win to clinch a semi-final place and are the only side who can still topple Australia from top spot – which would require them to beat both the Tigers and Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh, in seventh place, must win both games if they are to edge out England or New Zealand for a place in the last four and will look to build on their win over Afghanistan and scores of 300-plus against both Australia and the West Indies.

Monday's game saw Sri Lanka beat the Windies by 23 runs in a dead rubber, in which Avishka Fernando and Nicholas Pooran made centuries in front of watching Barbadian pop star Rihanna.

One to watch

Rishabh Pant: The 21-year-old's free-scoring, bat-flinging World Cup bow against England was ended by Chris Woakes' breathtaking boundary catch but showed a glimpse of what he can bring to the top order with others ruled out. His strike rate of 125 in his five one-day international innings to date offers more encouragement than either his average of 25 or top score of 36 – India will hope he can stick around longer and do some serious damage.

Tweet of the day

The Windies' hopes of semi-final qualification may have gone up in smoke long ago but that was a minor detail for one of the pop world's biggest sensations. There was quite the buzz around the place when it was confirmed on Monday – after rumours doing the rounds for a couple of hours – that Rihanna was indeed at Chester-le-Street. For a period afterwards, the ground DJ paid homage to the Barbadian by blasting out some of her renowned hits during gaps in play.

Top of the shots

Sri Lanka were on course for a thumping win when the Windies slipped to 84 for four chasing a World Cup record 339, but Pooran's never-say-die attitude ensured the match went right to the wire. His 103-ball innings contained 11 fours and four sixes, the best of them a swivel pull off Isuru Udana in the 45th over which lowered the equation to 47 from the final 30 balls by the end of the over. It was not to be but it was nevertheless a day to remember for Pooran.

Tournament tracker

CRICKET World Cup: Key statistics
(PA Graphic)

Top run-scorers

  1. David Warner (Aus) - 516
  2. Aaron Finch (Aus) - 504
  3. Shakib Al Hasan (Ban) - 476

Money ball

Windies captain Jason Holder insisted there was "pride to play for" despite their semi-final hopes being long gone. However, their performance in the field made a mockery of that utterance, with no-balls, dropped catches, fumbles and general ineptitude punctuating Sri Lanka's innings. Holder did at least make an impression as he castled Angelo Mathews with a fine yorker, the batsman beaten all ends up after advancing down the track.

Catch of the day

Fabian Allen was approaching 300 deliveries in ODIs with only one wicket to show for his efforts but his second scalp owed more to his athletic attributes and fast reflexes than it did his bowling. Kusal Mendis was unable to take advantage of a low full toss, merely bunting in the air back down the ground. Allen, though, reacted quickly, flinging himself through the air and plucking the ball with a one-handed grab.

Table

World Cup table
(PA Graphic)
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Avishka Fernando celebrates his century for Sri Lanka on July 1, 2019
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