Australia beat Bangladesh with eight wickets and 82 deliveries to spare in the T20 World Cup on Thursday to leapfrog South Africa in the Super 12 Group 1 standings in a major boost to their chances of making the semi-finals. 

Leggie Adam Zampa finished with his career-best figures of five for 19 from four overs as Bangladesh were bundled out for just 73 runs in 15 overs.

A horrid tournament, which they entered on the back of series wins against New Zealand and Australia, saw the Bangla Tigers losing all five matches in the Super 12 stage. Their batting unit, deprived of star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, collapsed like a house cards in their last two outings. 

After registering just 84 against South Africa, Bangaldesh were in for another dismal showing against Australia, with their batters unable to perform even on a batting-friendly pitch. 

Zampa was adjudged player of the match for his figures, which was also the best return by any bowler in the tournament. Fast bowlers Mitchell Starc (2/21) and Josh Hazlewood (2/8) shared four wickets between them while Glenn Maxwell (1/6) dismissed one batter.

Also Read | Cricket family wishes fans ‘happy, dhamakedaar Diwali’ on festival of lights

Starc provided the first wicket as Liton Das (0) dragged one back on to the stumps while Josh Hazlewood got rid of Soumya Sarkar (5), who also played on to the stumps.

Maxwell trapped Mushfiqur Rahim (1) while Zampa had Afif Hossain (0) caught in the slip region.

Hazlewood got his second victim in opener Mohammad Naim (17), who was caught by Pat Cummins at square leg when the batter miscued a pull shot.

Bangladesh were struggling at 33 for five before skipper Mamudullah (16)  and Shamim Hossain (19) added 29 runs. Zampa then took over the proceedings, removing all five remaing batsmen to put Bangladesh out of their misery. 

Also Read | T20 World Cup: India resume battle for survival, face Scotland

In reply, Finch scored a quickfire 40 from 20 deliveries, smashing two fours and four sixes to set up the win. He was bowled by Taskin Ahmed before Shoriful Ahmed cleaned up his partner David Warner (18). 

Another cameo Mitchell March, who scored 16 runs from five deliveries, helped Australia close out the game with 82 deliveries to spare. It is the second largest margin of victory in that regard in T20 World Cup history since Sri Lanka beat the Netherlands with 15 overs left in the 2014 edition. 

Australia’s final Super 12 game is against the West Indies on Saturday, before South Africa take on England in a crucial clash later that day.