Mustafizur, Taskin power Bangladesh to historic ODI series win over Australia

Bangladesh registered a historic maiden ODI series victory against Australia with a five-wicket win in the second ODI on Thursday, June 11, at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka. After opting to bat first, Australia once again capitulated against a relentless Bangladesh bowling attack and were restricted to 187/8 in 42 overs, before rain interrupted proceedings.

In the second innings, Bangladesh were set a DLS revised target of 192 from 41 overs, and they got over the line in 35 overs with solid contributions from Soumya Sarkar (42 off 47), Najmul Hossain Shanto (41 off 53) and Towhid Hridoy (40* off 55). As a result, Bangladesh took an unassailable 2-0 victory in the series with one match remaining.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

Mustafizur Rahman was adjudged Player of the Match for his terrific new-ball spell. He started with a double-wicket maiden, removing Cooper Connolly (0 off 1) and Matt Renshaw (0 off 5) in his first over itself. He further got rid of Alex Carey (13 off 17) to complete his three-wicket haul. The left-arm seamer finished with figures of 3/27 in seven overs.

Turning Point

A terrific new-ball spell from Taskin Ahmed (3/33, 8 overs) and Mustafizur Rahman blew away Australia inside the powerplay, reducing them to 25/4 in 7.3 overs. They further slipped to 81/6 in 21.1 overs before Marnus Labuschagne (55 off 85) and Xaver Bartlett (52 off 48) rescued their team with a 103-run stand. However, Australia could never truly recover from the early blows and had to settle for a below-par score.

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto (Bangladesh's stand-in captain):  

(On Mehidy Hasan) Looks fine, but we have to observe him tonight. That's what I heard. Probably he went to hospital. It means a lot, but I can't tell you in words. (On the series win) It's an amazing feeling, and the way we played this series, we showed a lot of courage. We have been working really hard last few months, and we wanted to improve our game, and the way we played the last two matches, it's outstanding. And I'm really proud to be a part of this team. (On what worked for the team) We wanted to play as a team, and every skill we wanted to improve, and everyone wanted to contribute for every single match. It can be fielding, it can be bowling. So that's what we wanted, to play like that. And then the boys showed a lot of character, especially those who are not playing, sitting in the dugout. They also helped a lot. So it feels like we play as a team, and we need to continue those little things. And then I felt if we continue to play like that, we can improve a lot. (On the final ODI) Very important. If you look at the way we played the last two matches, it's important to play again good cricket, and we wanted to compete. We wanted to win the last match as well, but we have to play some good cricket. Those who are performing, those who are not performing, we have to chip in the next match as well. So I hope we'll play good cricket again.

Losing Captain, Josh Inglis (Australia):

(Losing 3 quick wickets): Yeah, it did. As you said, anytime you lose three wickets that early, it's always tough to recover. I thought the partnership between Marnus and Xavier was outstanding. They got us to a total that was probably below par, but at least it gave us something to bowl at. They did a terrific job getting us into a competitive position. We tried hard out there, but that partnership at the end from Bangladesh was crucial. I thought they played really well. (On choosing to bat first)? I don't think so. If we'd managed to get through those first few overs without losing wickets, it still looked like a pretty good batting surface. It wasn't as quick or bouncy as it was in the first game, but there were definitely runs to be scored. Personally, I got a start and then got out at a crucial stage, which didn't help. As I mentioned, Marnus and Xavier did a great job of getting us to a respectable total, but ultimately it wasn't enough. (After the rain and the DLS score, did you still believe you could defend the score?): Absolutely. In those situations, you've always got to believe. You have to give it everything and back yourselves. I felt there was still enough in the pitch with the new ball, and if we could have picked up three or four early wickets, we would have been right in the contest. I thought we bowled well through the middle overs and kept taking wickets, which gave us a real chance. But that final partnership took the game away from us. (There is still one match left, What will your message be to the group?): We just need to sharpen up in all three facets of the game. We've had players who got starts, but no one has made a significant contribution. That's something we've let ourselves down on. Having said that, Bangladesh have outplayed us so far in the series, so full credit to them. We'll regroup, come back stronger, and look to finish the series on a positive note.