World Cup 2023: Marsh smashes 177* to floor Bangladesh in Pune

Mitchell Marsh smashed a brutal unbeaten 177 as Australia beat Bangladesh by eight wickets in their final World Cup group game.

Marsh struck nine sixes in his 132-ball knock as Australia reached their target of 307 with 32 balls to spare in Pune on Saturday.

Opener David Warner scored 53 and Steve Smith added 63 not out as both shared century stands with Marsh.

Bangladesh earlier posted 306-8 with Towhid Hridoy top-scoring with 74.

It was a frustrating innings for Bangladesh who squandered promising positions on a good batting surface, with all top seven batters passing 20 – but Hridoy the only one to capitalise.

They were set for a strong finish at 239-4 but Australia’s bowlers closed out the innings expertly, with just 65 runs and four wickets coming from the final 10 overs.

In contrast, Australia batted with discipline to time their chase perfectly, setting a new highest World Cup run chase for the second game in succession after Glenn Maxwell’s heroics against Afghanistan.

Travis Head was bowled for 10 by Taskin Ahmed in the third over but Warner continued his fine form with his fourth 50-plus score in the tournament as he anchored the innings around Marsh’s aggression.

Australia had already qualified for the semi-finals, where they will face South Africa, before this match.

Their fixture against the Proteas looks set to be an intriguing battle with both teams taking confidence from winning their final group stage matches. (BBC Sport)