Coach Darren Lehmann has called on Australia’s batsmen to apply themselves better under pressure when they attempt to keep their World Twenty20 hopes alive against Bangladesh on Monday night.
Both sides are in desperate need of the two points after opening their Group 2 campaigns with defeats, Australia losing to New Zealand and Bangladesh thumped by Pakistan.
Australia were in a strong position to beat the Black Caps in Dharamsala on Friday when reaching 50 for one six overs into their pursuit of 143.
But, like hosts India did in the opening match, Australia’s top order failed to negotiate New Zealand’s spinners and collapsed to 66 for four.
Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh offered brief hope with 23-ball cameos, but Australia left too much to do at the death and slipped to an eight-run loss.
As a result, Lehmann has urged his batsmen to step up against a Tigers side that have never tasted victory against Australia in T20 internationals.
“(Steve) Smith, (David) Warner, (Glenn) Maxwell, (Mitchell) Marsh, the whole lot of them, they need to be smarter,” Lehmann told www.cricket.com.au. “They know that. They don’t mean to play the shots they play. At the end of the day we’ve just got to be better.”
Lehmann could be tempted into making a change to his top-order, having opted to leave number-one ranked T20 batsman Aaron Finch out of his XI to face New Zealand.
