Clarke smashes ton to set up Aussie win

Bangladesh suffer 60-run defeat in first ODI.

DHAKA: Michael Clarke celebrated his captaincy debut with a responsible century as Australia raced to an emphatic 60-run victory over Bangladesh in the opening One-Day International (ODI).

The middle-order batsman scored 101 for his sixth ODI hundred to help his team post a challenging 270 for seven on a slow pitch. Bangladesh never looked like achieving the target despite half-centuries from opener Tamim Iqbal (62) and captain Shakibal Hasan (51), finishing at 210 for five. The Bangladeshi captain completed 3,000 one-day runs during his knock.

“I’m very happy to make a century today,” said Clarke. “The pitch was quite slow but once you got in, it was a nice wicket to bat on. Bangladesh have four spinners in their team and they have got a lot of talent. So we are pretty happy to get off to a good start, although there is room for improvement.”

Bangladesh now trail 1-0 in the three-match series. The final two ODIs will be played in Dhaka on April 11 and 13.

“We knew Australia would be tough,” said Shakib. “It was hard to chase 270 on this pitch where the ball was keeping low. But we will keep focussing and will keep sticking to our plans and hopefully we will do well next time.”



Published in The Express Tribune, April 10^th, 2011.