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Bangladesh will host Australia in the second match of the five-match T20I series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Friday, August 6.
The five-match T20I series between Bangladesh and Australia has turned out to be historic for the hosts. After having zero victories against the Aussies in T20s before this series, Bangladesh have now beaten them twice in a row, albeit a depleted Aussie side. Both teams will now face each other in the third T20I on Friday at Dhaka.
Playing without three of their key players in Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das, Bangladesh have done a terrific job in this series to take a 2-0 lead. In the first game, the hosts put on 131/7 on the board and defended the total by bundling the visitors out in 108. The Bangla Tigers restricted the Aussies to 121/7 in the second match and chased it down with five wickets to spare.
Australia, without their top players like David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins and Steve Smith, have had abysmal tours, first against the West Indies and now against Bangladesh. They lost by 1-4 against the Windies and are on the verge of losing the second series straight. They’d be desperate to keep the series alive while Bangladesh will look to seal it in the third game itself.
Key Players
Shakib Al Hasan is perhaps the most impactful player in the history of Bangladesh cricket. The all-rounder has turned countless matches in the team’s favour with both bat and ball in hand. He has been in terrific form since the Zimbabwe tour, where he scored 145 in three matches, including an unbeaten 96 and picked 8 wickets in the ODI series. He followed that with some tight bowling in the T20I series. Shakib was outstanding in the first match of this series, scoring 36 off 33 to help the team post a competitive total and then picking 1 for 24 in four overs. He then picked 1/22 in the second game and 17-ball-26 in a low run-chase. In his overall T20I career, Shakib has 97 wickets at an economy of 6.81 and has scored 1640 runs at an average of 24.
Mustafizur Rahman has been one of the best pacers in the Bangladesh circuit. The left-arm pacer has the ability to swing the ball, bowl yorkers and bamboozle the batters with his clever variations. Mustafizur has been in good form lately, starting from a terrific outing in the first phase of the IPL and then carrying that form in international cricket. Amidst the injury worries, he only played one ODI and a T20I in the white-ball series against Zimbabwe, picking three scalps in each innings. The Fizz has been brilliant in the ongoing series, picking 2/16 in the first match and 3/23 in the second. He has 66 wickets in 45 T20Is at an average of 20.38.
Mitchell Marsh, who has had a pretty average international career in all these years, has been sublime since the start of the Windies tour. The all-rounder has been the only bright spot for the Australian team, with most of the other batters struggling to make any meaningful contribution. In the T20I series against WI, Marsh was the top run-scorer with 219 runs averaging 44 at a terrific strike rate of 152. He also picked 8 wickets at an average of 11. Marsh is the only Australian batter, who has looked comfortable in this series, with 45 off 45 balls in the first game and 45 off 42 in the second T20I.
Josh Hazlewood, one of the best bowlers in the world, is a master of his art. The tall Aussie pacer is known for his impeccable line and lengths and is terrific at new ball bowling even in his weakest format, T20 cricket. Hazlewood, who has had limited opportunities in T20Is, returned to the side with 3 for 12 in the first game against the Windies. He then picked 5 wickets for 29runs in two ODIs he played against WI. The 30yr old pacer was pick of the bowlers for Australia in the first T20I of this series, with returns of 3 for 24 in his four overs. He also looked superb in the second match, picking 1 for 21 in 3.4 overs.
Prediction
Bangladesh and Australia have had very limited face-offs in T20 cricket. In six meetings between these two teams, Australia have had the upper hand with four wins while Bangladesh have registered two victories. However, these are different times.
Australia’s inexperienced batters have struggled on the slow, low pitches throughout, and their woes are likely to continue. The bowling department is still good with the likes of Starc, Hazlewood and Zampa.
On the other hand, Bangladesh have quality personnel for these conditions despite the absence of a few of their key batters. Their batting is good enough to score decent totals, and the bowling has the ability to choke the opposition. Expect the hosts to beat Australia and take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.
