Dailynewsun Desk:
The Tigers have taken on the Australian Cricket Team in three consecutive matches and confirmed the first-ever bilateral series against the Aussies by winning the third T20I by 10 runs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Friday night.
A splendid penultimate over from Mustafizur Rahman helped Bangladesh defend a low total. Tigers wrapped up the five-match T20I series 3-0 with two games to be played.
Bangladesh restricted Australia to 117 for four after posting a decent total of 127 for nine.
Strikes from Shakib, Shoriful bring Tigers back in the game
[Wicket] Overs 14.1; Aus 74/3: Shoriful Islam makes amends for his dropped catch as he picks up the wicket of Moises Henriques. A full and straight delivery from Shoriful and Henriques chips it right in the hands of Shamim Hossain at mid-on. Two wickets in quick succession and Bangladesh are back in the game.
Shakib removes McDermott to end crucial partnership
[Wicket] Overs13.2; Aus 71/2: Shoriful Islam can breathe a sigh of relief as Shakib Al Hasan picks up the wicket of Ben McDermott an over after he was dropped by Shoriful. McDermott tries to sweep Shakib but misses it and ball goes on to hit the stumps. The wicket ended a crucial 63-run stand between Mitchell Marsh and McDermott, who departs after a 41-ball 35.
[DROPPED] Overs 12.1, Aus 68/1: Shoriful Islam dropped an easy catch at long leg off a Mustafizur Rahman delivery. Ben McDermott, on 32, pulled Mustazfizur’s short delivery off his hip and it went straight to Shoriful at long leg. The catch could have been what the Tigers needed desperately as the partnership between Mitchell Marsh and McDermott is growing. After losing skipper Matthew Wade to a Nasum Ahmed delivery in the second over, Australia recovered well through a fifty-run stand between in-form Mitchell Marsh and Ben Mcdermott.
Nasum gives Tigers early breakthrough
[Wicket] Overs 1.3; Aus 8/1: Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed picked up the prized wicket of Australia skipper Matthew Wade, who promoted himself to open the innings today, in the second over of the game. Wade goes across his crease and tried to pull a short delivery from Nasum. But he could not connect it properly as the ball went directly to short fine leg. Bangladesh strike early.
Mahmudullah’s composed fifty helps Tigers post decent total despite Ellis hattrick
Australia pacer Nathan Ellis picked up a last-over hattrick on debut but a composed fifty from skipper Mahmudullah Riyad helped a stuttering Bangladesh post a decent total against the Aussies in the third T20I at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. Bangladesh ended with a total of 127 for nine.
Mahmudullah, who held his nerve during a tricky period of the game, scored 52 off 53 deliveries before he was bowled in the fourth ball of the final over of the game off an Ellis delivery. With Bangladesh looking to score quick runs, Ellis then had Mustafizur Rahman and Mahedi Hasan caught in the outfield in the final two deliveries of the game to complete his hattrick. In doing so, Ellis became the first Australian to have scalped a hattrick on T20I debut and the third Australian overall to achieve the feat in the format.
It has been a compact bowling display from Australia with Ellis being the pick of the bowlers for his three for 34 in four overs.
Electing to bat, Bangladesh lost both their openers early but a 44-run stand between Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan had brought stability for sometime in the middle. However, Shakib failed to capitalise on his start and departed after a 17-ball 26 in the ninth over.
After that the Tigers kept losing wickets at regular intervals with only Mahmudullah steady at one end. Australia’s fielding has been exceptional as they picked up the wickets of in-form Afif Hossain and Nurul Hasan — Tigers’ heroes of their 23-run win in the second T20I — with direct hits.
Afif struck a boundary and an exquisite six over mid-wicket before his promising-looking knock of 19 off 13 deliveries ended prematurely due to a brilliant bit of fielding in the 12th over.
Another direct hit; Tigers six down
[Wicket] Overs 15.4; Ban 97/6: It’s another direct hit and this time Nurul Hasan is the victim. Mahmudullah Riyad played a Dan Christian delivery towards cover and Moises Henriques picks up and hits directly as the batsmen tried to take a single.
Shamim falls; Tigers lose their fifth wicket
[Wicket] Overs 13.4; Ban 81/5: Shamim Hossain swings at a short of a length delivery from Josh Hazlewood and fails to connect. It skews off his bat and McDermott takes an easy catch. Shamim walks out after an eight-ball 3 and Bangladesh are now in deep trouble.
Direct hit ends Afif’s promising knock
[Wicket] Overs 11.6; Ban 76/4: A full length delivery from Dan Christian and Afif Hossain pushes it towards cover and tries to steal a quick single. Alex Carey, however, was quick to react as he produces a brilliant throw from the cover region, getting in-form Afif run-out after a 13-ball 19. Afif, fresh from his match-winning unbeaten 37 in the second T20, was looking confident and positive but the left-hander has to walk out courtesy of a brilliant fielding effort from the Aussies.
Shakib departs after a good start
[Wicket] Overs 8.1: Ban 47/3: Australia leggie Adam Zampa gives the biggest blow to Bangladesh as he picks up the wicket of Shakib Al Hasan. A tossed-up delivery and Shakib tries to play it over the top of the bowler’s head. However, Ashton Agar covered a lot of ground running in from long-off and took a good catch. Shakib, who had just struck Mitchell Marsh for back-to-back boundaries in the previous over, will be disappointed to have not capitalised on a good start. Shakib departs after a 17-ball 26, ending a 44-run stand between him and Mahmudullah Riyad after Bangladesh had lost both their openers early.
Naim, Soumya depart early
[Wicket] Overs 2.1; Ban 3/2: And Soumya Sarkar departs the very next ball after Mohammad Naim’s dismissal. Soumya went for a sweep off an Adam Zampa delivery and the ball that pitched on middle and leg went on to hit his pads. After a loud and long appeal from Australia players, umpire raised his finger. However, Soumya reviewed it but it only revealed that the ball would have gone on to hit leg stump. Soumya, whose catch, albeit a very difficult one, was dropped on 0, looked very nervous from the very beginning. Soumya walks out after yet another disappointing display. The left-hander scored two off 11 deliveries.
Naim departs early
[Wicket] Overs 1.6; Ban 3/1: Josh Hazlewood strikes early. A length delivery from Hazlewood and Mohammad Naim, who was stuck on the crease, was unsure about how to negotiate it and ended up giving a thin edge back to the wicketkeeper.
Bangladesh opt to bat against Aus; no overs lost due to rain
Bangladesh have won the toss and elected to bat first against Australia in the third T20I at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today. No overs have been lost due to the rain that had delayed the toss and the start of the game.
Bangladesh are unchanged from their first two T20Is. However, Australia, seeking their first win in the series, have made three changes to the squad.
Ben McDermott, Dan Christian and Nathan Ellis will be replacing Josh Philippe, Mitchell Starc and Andrew Tye respectively. Ellis will be making his debut in the format.
Bangladesh stand on the verge of history as they eye their first-ever series win — in any format — against Australia today.
Going into the series, Bangladesh were yet to register their first T20 win over Australia but two games later the Tigers are now in the box seat, leading the five-match series 2-0.
Playing XI:
Bangladesh: Mahmudullah Riyad, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Shakib Al Hasan, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed
Australia: Alex Carey, Ben McDermott, Mitchell Marsh, Moises Henriques, Matthew Wade, Ashton Turner, Ashton Agar, Nathan Ellis, Dan Christian, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Rain delays toss of third T20I between Ban-Aus
Update at 6:48pm: The time for Toss has been set at 7:00pm. The match wil get underway at 7:15pm and there will a 10-minute break in between innings. No overs have been lost.
Update at 6:18pm: The covers have come off once again and the umpires are out for inspection. The cut-off time is 7:00pm and overs will be reduced if the game starts anytime after that.
Update at 6:05pm: Unfortunately the covers are back on and it started drizzling once again. Groundsmen are busy mopping the ground.
Update at 5:55pm: The covers have been removed and a few players of both sides are out on the field. It’s looking promising and the match might get underway soon without the overs being reduced.
Update at 5:40pm: Rain seems to be stopping. However, the covers are still on and groundsmen seem to be making their way out to the ground. We could still have a 6:00pm start.
Rain at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur has delayed the toss of the third T20I between Bangladesh and Australia today.
Bangladesh stand on the verge of history as they eye their first-ever series win — in any format — against Australia today.
Going into the series, Bangladesh were yet to register their first T20 win over Australia but two games later the Tigers are now in the box seat, leading the five-match series 2-0.
Bangladesh registered a 23-run victory in the first T20I and followed it up with a more comprehensive five-wicket win in the second T20I to assert their authority over an Australian side, whose batting prowess has been dented in absence of key players like David Warner, Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith and Marcus Stoinis.
However, for a relatively inexperienced Bangladesh side, who are also missing key players like Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das, it was the youngsters who stepped up to deliver in the first two matches.
