Australia demolished their opposition for the second time in a row to set up a semi-final clash with host nation Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy. They thrashed minnows Bangladesh by nine wickets at the S.S.C ground on Thursday.

Fast bowler Jason Gillespie (3 for 20), the Man-of-the-Match, made early inroads into a brittle Bangladeshi batting line-up. The lanky pacer dismissed two batsman in the space of three balls including the wicket of their most capable batsman, Habibul Bashar before the minnows had notched up a run.

From there it was all down hill for the team, whose coach had earlier claimed they were capable of even surprising the world champs, as they succumbed to the four-pronged Aussie pace attack.

Glenn McGrath, the spearhead of the Aussie bowling set-up was as miserly as ever giving away just 17 runs in 8 overs and accounting for another of Bangladesh's better equipped men with the willow, Al Shariar. Fast bowling sensation Brett Lee took 3 for 20 while upcoming all-rounder Shane Watson finished with 2 for 7.

Alok Kapali (45), Tushar Imran (27) and skipper Khaled Mashud (22) were the chief contributors with the bat for the babes of Test cricket in a score of 129 all out in the 46th over.

The chase was a cakewalk for the powerful Aussie batting order, as only three batsman were required to finish the job. Adam Gilchrist (54) and Matthew Hayden (67 not out) shared in a quick-fire 113-run opening stand before the flamboyant wicket-keeper/batsman became Bangladesh's only success. Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting (9 not out) was at the crease to lead the World Cup holders to yet another emphatic ODI victory, one achieved with almost 30 overs to spare.

The hapless Bangladeshis have one more league game to go, against New Zealand, who themselves were handed a big defeat by the Aussies earlier.

Statistical Highlights:
---By Daniel Puran Singh

• Australia faced Bangladesh only for the third time in ODIs. Their only other two previous encounters were in the 1990 Austral-Asia Cup in Sharjah and 1999 World Cup.
• Bangladesh batsman Mazharul Haque making his debut is the 60th cricketer to represent his nation in ODIs.
• The catch of Mazharul Haque was wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist's 200th catch in ODIs. This does not include the 34 stumping dismissals.
• By virtue of hitting fifties Gilchrist and Hayden registered their 25th and 11th half-century in ODIs respectively.
• The first wicket stand of 113 between Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden was the first century partnership between these two teams.
• Bangladesh's 129 all out in this match was their lowest against the Aussies. Their previous lowest was 134 for 8 in 1990.
• By a nine-wicket victory the Aussies bettered their seven-wicket wins against Bangladesh in both the other instances they had met.
• This win was Australia's 295th in all ODI and the third against the minnows.
• Fast bowler Jason Gillespie won his fourth Man-of-the-Match award and his maiden award against Bangladesh.