Australia 141 for 7 (M Hussey 47*, Smith 27) beat Bangladesh (Shakib 28, Nannes 4-18) by 27 runsMichael Hussey reprised his favourite role, of the rescue artist, to steer Australia to a competitive total before Dirk Nannes' pace and some world-class fielding confirmed there would be no repeat of last year's embarrassing first round World Twenty20 exit. Bangladesh's defeat also meant defending champions Pakistan, the team most likely to take the flight home in case Group A was decided on net run-rate, also progressed to the Super Eights.
Bangladesh were dreaming of another famous upset in a global tournament in the Caribbean after their armada of spinners thrived on a pitch with bounce and turn at the Kensington Oval to cut Australia to 65 for 6. The slow bowlers had been so effective that there had been no boundaries for more than ten overs after Michael Clarke got off the mark with a lovely hit over long-off in the fourth over, before Hussey and Steven Smith pounded 74 runs to push Australia to 141.
Playing with typical Australian resilience, Hussey and Smith more than doubled the total in the final seven overs. The boundary drought ended with Hussey swiping a short ball from Abdur Razzak to square leg in the 15th over. The real acceleration came two overs later, when Hussey surgically picked off 17 runs off Mashrafe Mortaza - there was an effortless flick for six, a tickle to fine leg for four and a dab to third man for four more.
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