Bangladesh vs Australia: Hosts Win Series Against Australia for the First Time
Bangladesh vs Australia: Aussies miss the services of Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steven Smith, Mitchel Starc, Josh Hazelwood among others.
The Australian team is touring Bangladesh for a 5-match T20I series as part of their preparations for the T20I World Cup later this year. The touring squad has a stand-in Captain in the form of the wicket-keeper batsman Mathew Wade.
While it is no secret that the Australian team has dominated world cricket for the longest time after the early West Indian greats, with 4 World Cups in their name, the Bangladesh tour has proven to be a tough nut to crack for them. With the services of star players like Aaron Finch,
David Warner, Steven Smith, Mitchel Starc, Josh Hazelwood, among others, are missing from the squad. The Bangladesh team has toyed with the visitors in all senses.
In the 5-match series, Bangladesh had already taken an unassailable 3-0 lead with the win last night.
Bangladesh v Australia Background
Before the current series, Bangladesh had not won a single T20I against the mighty Aussies, and they opened their account in some style, winning a series just when the biggest event of T20I Cricket is around the corner World Cup.
While in the Tests and One Day Internationals, the Bangla Tigers have managed to win solitary games against the Kangaroos, this series win in the shortest format of the game is definitely historic by all means.
As soon as the last bowl of the 3rd T20I was bowled and Bangladesh won the match, the players fell into each other’s arms as they rejoiced their win against their lauded opponents.
The 3rd T20I of the Series
During the 3rd T20I, batting first, the Bangladesh team managed a small score of 127 for the loss of 9 wickets. Their skipper did the bulk of the scoring from the Tigers team. Mahmudullah Riyadh scored a crucial 52 runs. The Aussie bowlers were on top of their game as debutant Nathan Ellis’s hattrick decimated the Bangladeshi batting lineup.
However, the fortunes turned in favor of the Bangladesh team in the second innings. Even when all-rounder Mitchel Marsh’s 51 and Ben McDermott’s 35 threatened to take the game away, the Bangladesh bowlers held their nerve and gave them absolutely nothing for free.
They hit the right line and length so consistently that a T20 specialist batsman of McDermott’s ability scored his 35 runs below the strike rate of 100.
Although the Aussies lost only 4 wickets, left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rehman’s spell of 4 overs giving away only 9 runs without conceding even a single boundary or an extra all but sealed the fate of the Australian team in the low-scoring thriller.
The Series
With a third win in the 5-match series, the Bangladesh team has already put their name on the trophy. However, Australia will have a chance to save face in 2 more T20Is. The 4th match of the series is scheduled for tonight, 5:30 pm IST.
