Adam Zampa takes five as Australia hammer Bangladesh
Dubai, Nov 4: Leg-spinner Adam Zampa returned a career-best five-wicket haul in the shortest format as Australia crushed Bangladesh by eight wickets to take their second spot in Group 1 and keep their semifinals hopes alive in the T20 World Cup here on Thursday.
Bangladesh innings fell like house of cards as neither the batters could contend with the Australian pacers nor they negotiated the spinners well and were all out for just 74 in 15 overs after being asked to take first strike.
Zampa (5/19) maintained splendid line and length throughout to trouble the batters, who found it difficult to read him.
Fast bowlers Mitchell Starc (2/21) and Josh Hazlewood (2/8) shared four wickets between them while Glenn Maxwell (1/6) dismissed one batter.
Already out of the semifinal race, Bangladesh could not apply themselves even as the ball was coming nicely on to the bat. They could not win a single game, losing all five matches.
Australia knocked off the required runs in just 6.2 overs to replace South Africa in the second spot.
They now have six points, same as that of Proteas but the massive win boosted their Net-Run-Rate (1.031), which is now better than Temba Bavuma-led side (0.742).
Skipper Aaron Finch (40) and David Warner (18) added 58 runs in five overs for an explosive start.
Mitchell Marsh (16 not out) and Glenn Maxwell (0) took the side past the finish line.
Earlier, 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 and needed skipper Mamudullah and Shamim Hossain to repair the innings.
Mahmudullah (16) found two boundaries off Starc while Shamim too took on the same pacer for his first boundary.
Shamim also lofted Zampa confidently for a six over deep square leg. He was stroking the ball fluently but could not convert his good start into a substantial knock.
Zampa had the left-hander caught behind when he tried to play a cut shot and trapped Mahedi hasan in the next ball to be on a hat-trick. When he returned to bowl, wicket-keeper Matthew Wade dropped a catch to deny his colleague the hat-trick milestone.
The skipper too departed soon with Starc spelling his ouster by having him caught behind, leaving Bangladesh at 65 for eight.
Bangladesh were now in danger of not even competing their 20-over quota and Zampa did not let them by scalping the remaining two batters.
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Karnataka police constable arrested for forging passport verification records
Mangaluru: A police constable attached to the Vitla Police Station has been arrested for allegedly forging documents and manipulating passport verification records to obtain a clearance certificate from the authorities.
Police said on Tuesday that a person identified as Shakti Das, who claimed to be residing within the jurisdiction of the Vitla Police Station, first applied for a passport in February 2025.
During police verification, it was found that the address mentioned in the application did not match official records, following which the application was not recommended.
In June 2025, Shakti Das reportedly submitted a second passport application. Police alleged that Pradeep, a staff member at the Vitla Police Station, processed the reapplication without informing the concerned beat constable, Sabu Mirji, who was responsible for verifying the applicant’s address.
Pradeep allegedly prepared a verification report in the name of the beat constable, forged his signature, secured approval from senior officers, and forwarded the report. He is also accused of destroying verification-related documents to conceal the irregularities.
As per the report, the matter came to light on December 19 during a scrutiny of records. Police said the acts amounted to criminal breach of trust, as a crucial identity document issued by the Central government was fraudulently obtained.
Police further said that Shakti Das claims to hail from West Bengal, and his address is currently being verified.
Based on the findings, Vitla Police have registered a case against Pradeep and passport holder Shakti Das under Sections 336, 337, 316(5), and 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
Pradeep has been arrested and produced before a court, which remanded him to judicial custody. Further investigation is underway, police said.
