Bangladesh claimed their first-ever ODI series win against Australia on Thursday, 11 June, completing a five-wicket victory under the DLS method in the second match at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. The result followed a dominant performance in the series opener and gave the hosts an unassailable lead.
Australia, looking to respond after being thoroughly outplayed in the first game, chose to bat first but collapsed in extraordinary fashion. They lost their opening three wickets without a run on the board. Matthew Short fell for his third duck in a row, leaving a Taskin Ahmed delivery that nipped back in. Mustafizur Rahman then removed Cooper Connolly and Matt Renshaw in quick succession as Bangladesh’s new-ball attack struck early and often. Australia’s first run arrived via a no-ball before captain Josh Inglis tried to fight back with boundaries off Taskin. Alex Carey edged a wide delivery to point, giving Mustafizur his fourth wicket and deepening Australia’s crisis.
Nahid Rana, who had starred in the opening win, came under pressure when Inglis struck a four and a six off consecutive balls. Cameron Green settled slowly before left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam ended a 43-run stand by dismissing Inglis at deep cover. Marnus Labuschagne, promoted in a reshuffled order, survived a run-out chance on one when Tanvir failed to gather a throw cleanly. Taskin continued to test Labuschagne with movement off the seam, and Green eventually fell for 25 from 50 balls with a simple return catch to Tanvir.
At 81 for six, Australia’s recovery hinged on Labuschagne and Xavier Bartlett, who added 103 runs. Bartlett played the attacking role, clearing the ropes and keeping the scoreboard moving, while Labuschagne battled through a scratchy innings built on patience. Labuschagne took a painful blow to the finger from Rana and largely shielded his partner from the quick. Both reached fifties — Labuschagne from 75 balls and Bartlett from 44. Taskin broke the stand by bowling Bartlett, and Adam Zampa was dismissed first ball. Rain then ended the innings after 42 overs with Australia on 187 for eight.
Bangladesh’s revised chase was 192 from 41 overs. They lost Tanzid Hasan Tamim for a duck in the first over, chipping back to Bartlett. Najmul Hossain Shanto was given out lbw in the same over but survived after a successful review showed the ball heading down leg. Shanto and Soumya Sarkar rebuilt with an 86-run second-wicket stand, accelerating sharply against Riley Meredith and targeting Nathan Ellis, who was driven for six as Bangladesh passed 50 in the ninth over.
Australia fought back when Renshaw held a reverse-sweep off Sarkar at slip. Shanto fell short of a half-century, Litton Das was bounced out by Green for a brisk 21 from 18 balls, and Mosaddek Hossain’s departure left Bangladesh at 144 for five.
Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Towhid Hridoy then steered the side home. They rotated strike through a tight middle phase before Hridoy attacked Meredith with a six and a four. Mehidy finished the match with a six over long leg as Bangladesh reached 195 for five in 35 overs with six overs remaining.
Mehidy did not attend the post-match presentation after taking a heavy blow to the helmet from an Ellis bouncer, vomiting on the field before continuing without retiring hurt. Shanto accepted the trophy on his behalf. Mehidy’s fitness for the third ODI on 14 June remains uncertain as Australia seek to avoid an unprecedented whitewash.
Brief scores: Australia 187/8 in 42 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 55, Xavier Bartlett 52; Mustafizur Rahman 3-27, Taskin Ahmed 3-33) lost to Bangladesh 195/5 in 35 overs (Soumya Sarkar 42, Najmul Hossain Shanto 41, Towhid Hridoy 40 not out; Xavier Bartlett 1-23) by five wickets (DLS).