Pune, Nov 11: Mitchell Marsh smashed his way to an unbeaten 177 off 132 balls as Australia warmed up nicely for their semi-final against South Africa with an easy eight-wicket victory over Bangladesh in their final World Cup league game on Saturday.

Australia thus finished their league engagements with seven wins on the trot. They ended third due to inferior net run-rate compared to South Africa despite having same number of points (14) with the Proteas.

Put in to bat, Bangladesh made 306 for 8 in 50 overs. In reply, Marsh hit 17 fours and nine sixes to end the match in 44.4 overs. He added 120 for the second wicket with David Warner (53) and 175 for the unbroken third wicket stand with Steve Smith (63 not out).

Brief Scores:

Bangladesh: 306 for 8 in 50 overs (Towhid Hridoy 74, Najmul Hossain Shanto 45; Adam Zampa 2/32, Sean Abbott 2/61).

Australia: 307 for 2 in 44.4 overs (Mitchell Marsh 177 not out, David Warner 53, Steve Smith 63 not out).

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Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered a probe by the special task force (STF) into alleged irregularities in the rejoining of a teacher at City Intermediate College in Barabanki, observing that the reinstatement appeared to be prima facie illegal.

The court also directed the recovery of the salary paid to the teacher during the disputed period.

A bench of Justice Rajeev Singh passed the order on a petition filed by the college management committee. The court expressed doubts over the roles of the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), Barabanki, the college principal and the teacher concerned and hence, directed a detailed inquiry into the matter.

Taking note of alleged manipulation of records and misleading submissions, the court ordered the immediate transfer of the Barabanki DIOS to ensure a fair probe. It also directed the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the then joint director of education of the Ayodhya division.

In its order, the court found that the teacher, Abhay Kumar, was initially appointed as an assistant teacher in 2018 but joined an Eklavya Model Residential School in Chhattisgarh as a lecturer in June 2024 without obtaining permission from the management. His subsequent request to retain the lien was rejected.

Despite this, he was allowed to rejoin the Barabanki College in September 2025 on the directions of the joint director of education and the DIOS, and was even paid the salary for October 2025. The court termed the rejoining "wholly illegal" and lacking any legal basis.

The bench also expressed concern over lapses in communication within the education department and directed the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to ensure that official orders are communicated through email and WhatsApp as well, to prevent disputes.

The matter is next listed for hearing on May 28 when a compliance report is sought.