Bangladesh Achieves Historic ODI Series Win Against Australia
Bangladesh Makes History with ODI Series Victory
On Thursday, Bangladesh made history by clinching their first-ever ODI series win over Australia, achieving a five-wicket victory via the DLS method in the second match held at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.
Australia's Batting Struggles
Australia faced a disastrous start after opting to bat first, quickly falling to 0 for 3 as Bangladesh's pace bowlers dismantled their top order. Matthew Short recorded his third consecutive duck, getting bowled by a Taskin Ahmed delivery that swung back into the stumps. Mustafizur Rahman then struck twice in rapid succession, dismissing Cooper Connolly and Matt Renshaw, both caught behind. The visitors only managed to score after a no-ball.
Captain Josh Inglis tried to stabilize the innings with a brief counterattack, hitting two boundaries off Taskin, but Bangladesh maintained control. Alex Carey fell while attempting to accelerate the scoring, edging a short and wide delivery to point, giving Mustafizur his third wicket and worsening Australia's situation.
Nahid Rana faced early pressure from Inglis, who briefly shifted momentum with a four and a six off consecutive balls. Cameron Green took a more cautious approach as Australia sought to recover from their poor start.
However, the recovery was short-lived. Left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam ended a promising 43-run partnership when Inglis misplayed a shot to deep cover. Marnus Labuschagne, promoted to No. 7 in a reshuffled batting order, was nearly run out due to a mix-up with Green but survived when Tanvir failed to collect the throw cleanly.
Taskin Ahmed continued to trouble Labuschagne with his seam movement, but the Australian managed to stay at the crease. Green's patient innings ended when he offered a simple return catch to Tanvir, departing for 25 off 50 balls as Bangladesh tightened their grip.
At 81/6, Australia's recovery began with a century partnership between Labuschagne and Xavier Bartlett. Both players scored fifties, helping the team reach 8-187 when heavy rain interrupted play after 42 overs, but the damage had already been done in the early overs.
Bangladesh Secures the Historic Win
Following a rain delay of nearly three hours, Bangladesh was set a target of 192 runs in 41 overs. Bartlett (1-23) struck early, dismissing Tanzid Hasan off the second ball of the innings.
Despite the pressure, Bangladesh's openers Soumya Sarkar (42) and Najmul Hossain Shanto (41) formed a solid second-wicket partnership of 86 runs.
Riley Meredith (1-50) took his first ODI wicket in just his second match, but contributions from Litton Das (21), Towhid Hridoy (40 not out), and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (22 not out) ensured a smooth path to victory.
Mehidy showed remarkable determination, continuing to bat despite suffering a head injury and reportedly vomiting multiple times during treatment.
In a fitting conclusion, it was Mehidy who sealed Bangladesh's historic ODI series victory over one of the format's most successful teams with a six over fine leg in the 35th over.
The third ODI is scheduled to take place in Dhaka on Sunday, followed by a three-match T20I series in Chattogram.