Australia beat Bangladesh to clinch T20I series

A brilliant all-round performance from Matt Renshaw who scored an unbeaten 89 and took a wicket helped Australia defeat Bangladesh by 7 runs in the second T20I in Chattogram and secure the three-match series.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Australia posted 196/5, thanks largely to Renshaw’s outstanding innings. In reply, Bangladesh finished on 189/6.

Chasing 197, Bangladesh openers Tanzid Hasan and Saif Hasan got off to an aggressive start adding 48 runs in just 3.4 overs and raising hopes of leveling the series.

Tanzid scored 30 off 15 balls including four fours and a six, before Renshaw produced a superb catch off his own bowling to dismiss him.

Soumya Sarkar maintained the momentum helping Bangladesh reach 72/1 at the end of the powerplay. However, Adam Zampa increased the pressure by dismissing him for 15.

Parvez Hossain Emon continued the attack with a quickfire 36 off 22 balls and added 53 runs with Saif Hasan.

Australia fought back as Aaron Hardie dismissed Emon with captain Mitchell Marsh taking an excellent catch. Joel Davies then removed the well-set Saif Hasan for 42.

With 63 runs needed from the final 40 balls, Bangladesh captain Towhid Hridoy kept his side in contention. He scored a rapid 35 and shared a 36-run partnership with Abdul Ghafar Saqlain but was caught off the first ball of the final over when Bangladesh needed eight runs from the last delivery.

After the match, Emon said:

“We were playing according to our plan, but losing my wicket and Saif’s wicket back-to-back was a major setback. We fell behind at that point; otherwise, the situation was very favorable.”

For Australia, Aaron Hardie claimed two wickets while Nathan Ellis, Matt Renshaw, Adam Zampa and Joel Davies took one wicket each.

Earlier, Australia recovered strongly after slipping to 44/3. Josh Inglis and Mitchell Marsh started positively but Nasum Ahmed dismissed Inglis for 11 while Nahid Rana removed Cooper Connolly for just one run.

Mustafizur Rahman then dismissed Marsh for 20 on the final ball of the powerplay.

Renshaw steadied the innings alongside Tim David who played an explosive knock of 45. The pair shared a crucial 97-run partnership.

Renshaw said he was delighted to seal the series in just two matches especially after Australia had suffered a surprising 2-1 defeat in the preceding ODI series against Bangladesh.