Warner's 166 leads Australia to 381-5 vs Bangladesh

By FOSTER NIUMATA 21 June 2019, 12:00AM

NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) — David Warner hit a tournament-best 166 as Australia posted 381-5 against Bangladesh in the Cricket World Cup on Thursday.

The innings was paced brilliantly by Warner, who featured in an opening partnership of 121 with captain Aaron Finch, then 192 with Usman Khawaja.

Australia became the first team to achieve two century partnerships for the first two wickets in a World Cup, but it would have been a tad disappointed with how the innings finished. Three wickets fell in six balls, and only three boundaries were hit off the last three overs.

Still, Bangladesh faced a tall order in Nottingham. The target of 382 to win comes only three days after it equaled its own 50-overs record when it chased down 322 in 41.3 overs to beat the West Indies at Taunton. Middle-order batsman Mosaddek Hossain is also out injured. The battery missed fast bowler Mohammad Saifuddin, the team's leading wicket-taker who was sidelined by back spasms.

Warner, dropped on 10, reached his second century of this World Cup eight days after 107 against Pakistan at Taunton.

He didn't exceed a run a ball until the 41st over as he and Khawaja began accelerating. He became only the second man to hit two 150-plus centuries in World Cup history, and was out lobbing a slow ball to short third man. Warner's 166 came from 147 balls, and included 14 boundaries and five sixes.

Finch was out for 53 off 51 balls, and Khawaja made a 72-ball 89 after running out Glenn Maxwell for 32 off 10 balls.

Finch, Warner, and Khawaja all gave their wickets to part-time medium-pacer Soumya Sarkar from slow, short balls. They were the second, third, and fourth wickets of Soumya's five-year ODI career.

Warner, criticized for scoring too slowly despite becoming the leading run-maker in the tournament, was relatively quick on an easy Trent Bridge pitch with a fast outfield.

He was dropped on 10 in the fifth over, through the hands of Sabbir Rahman at backward point off captain Mashrafe Mortaza, who still has only one wicket in five matches.

Even after getting to the hundred — off 110 balls —in the 33rd over, Warner didn't put his foot on the pedal until the 40th. After his 16th ODI hundred, he added 66 off his last 37 balls.

His and Finch's second century opening partnership of this World Cup was broken on 121 in the 21st over when Finch picked out short third man in Soumya's first over.

Finch's and Warner's fifth fifty partnership of the tournament is two more than any other opening pair.

Finch's half-century, his fourth of the tournament, followed Warner's.

Warner and Khawaja were happy rotating the strike with singles. Khawaja passed his previous best score at this World Cup, 42, and comfortably hit a run-a-ball 50.

After Warner departed, Khawaja let big-hitting Maxwell step up and deliver, but then ran out Maxwell, who was obviously displeased. Khawaja was out two balls later, and Steve Smith two balls after that, trapped on 1.

A heavy shower delayed playing the last over for a half-hour, and Alex Carey and Marcus Stoinis added 13. But only three boundaries came off the last 17 deliveries.

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More AP cricket: www.apnews.com/cricket and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

By FOSTER NIUMATA 21 June 2019, 12:00AM

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