Australia have suffered their first ever One Day International series defeat against Bangladesh, losing by five wickets in the second match of the three-game series in Dhaka. The tourists slumped to an unassailable 2-0 deficit after a dramatic collapse saw them lose their first three wickets before scoring a run.
Unprecedented Start
Winning the toss and electing to bat at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Australia crumbled to 0-3 inside the first two overs. Matt Short was bowled by Taskin Ahmed for a duck, while Cooper Connolly and Matt Renshaw both edged Mustafizur Rahman to wicketkeeper Litton Das without scoring. It marked the first time in ODI history that Australia lost their top three batsmen without a run on the board.
Recovery and Rain
At 25-4 after Alex Carey's dismissal, Australia were in deep trouble. Josh Inglis (34) and Cameron Green (25) briefly steadied the innings before falling to Tanvir Islam's spin, leaving the tourists reeling at 81-6. However, Marnus Labuschagne, batting at number seven, ended his form drought with a gritty 55 not out, his first half-century in 18 ODIs. He was ably supported by tail-ender Xavier Bartlett, who scored a career-best 52. The pair added 103 runs for the seventh wicket to give Australia a fighting chance.
Taskin Ahmed broke the partnership by bowling Bartlett and then dismissed Adam Zampa next ball for a hat-trick opportunity. Soon after, rain forced a 160-minute delay, with Australia at 187-8 from 42 overs.
Bangladesh's Chase
Set a revised target of 192 from 41 overs via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, Bangladesh started poorly when Tanzid Hasan was caught and bowled by Xavier Bartlett for a duck. However, Soumya Sarkar (42) and Najmul Hossain Shanto (42) shared an 86-run second-wicket stand to put the hosts in control. Towhid Hridoy (44 not out) and captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz (22 not out) finished the chase with 36 balls to spare, sealing the win with a six from Mehidy off Riley Meredith.
Series Dominance
Bangladesh, who had not beaten Australia since 2005 before this series, have now triumphed twice in 48 hours. The Tigers have won four consecutive bilateral ODI series, having previously defeated New Zealand, Pakistan, and the West Indies. Australian stand-in captain Josh Inglis acknowledged Bangladesh's superiority, saying: 'Any time you lose three wickets that early, it’s tough to come back from. Bangladesh have outplayed us in this series, so congratulations to them.'
The third and final ODI will be played in Dhaka on Sunday.
