Bangladesh Achieves Historic ODI Series Win Against Australia
Bangladesh's Groundbreaking Victory
On June 11, Bangladesh made history by clinching their first-ever ODI series victory over Australia, triumphing by five wickets using the DLS method in the second match held at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.
Australia's decision to bat first backfired spectacularly as they stumbled to 0 for 3, with Bangladesh's pace bowlers dismantling their top order.
Matthew Short faced his third consecutive duck, falling to a delivery from Taskin Ahmed that sharply turned back into the stumps. Mustafizur Rahman then quickly took two wickets, dismissing Cooper Connolly and Matt Renshaw, both caught behind.
The visitors managed to score their first runs only after a no-ball. Captain Josh Inglis attempted to stabilize the innings with a brief counterattack, hitting two boundaries off Taskin, but Bangladesh maintained a strong grip on the match.
Alex Carey fell victim to Mustafizur, trying to accelerate the scoring but ended up slicing a short delivery to point, marking Mustafizur's third wicket and deepening Australia's troubles.
Nahid Rana faced early pressure from Inglis, who briefly shifted the momentum with a four and a six off consecutive balls. Cameron Green took a more cautious approach as Australia sought to recover from their disastrous 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, departing after a spirited innings.
Marnus Labuschagne, batting at No. 7 due to a reshuffle, was nearly run out early on due to a mix-up with Green, but Tanvir failed to gather the throw cleanly.
Taskin Ahmed continued to trouble Labuschagne with his seam movement, but the Australian managed to stick around. 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 resurgence began with a century partnership between Labuschagne and Xavier Bartlett. Both players scored fifties, helping the visitors reach 187 before heavy rain curtailed their innings after 42 overs.
Bangladesh was set a target of 192 runs in 41 overs following a rain delay of nearly three hours. Bartlett (1-23) struck early, dismissing Tanzid Hasan on the second ball of the innings.
Despite the pressure, Soumya Sarkar (42) and Najmul Hossain Shanto (41) formed a solid second-wicket partnership of 86, stabilizing the innings.
Riley Meredith (1-50) took his first ODI wicket in just his second match, but contributions from Litton Das (21), Hridoy (40 not out), and Mehidy (22 not out) ensured a smooth path to victory for the home side.
Captain Mehidy displayed remarkable determination, continuing to bat despite suffering a head injury and vomiting multiple times during treatment. He fittingly sealed the historic win 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.