Australia’s tour of Bangladesh finally ended on Monday with another horrible loss in the fifth T20I in Dhaka. The visitors finished the series with the ignominy of 62 all out in a gut-wrenching defeat by 60 runs despite staring at a target of only 123.
As they did all series barring the previous encounter, which they managed to win, Australia began precariously with the bat, losing Dan Christian (3) and Mitchell Marsh (4) very early in the piece. Later on, stand-in captain Matthew Wade (22) and Ben McDermott (17) calmed things down to an extent with a steady partnership.
But once those two were also dismissed in quick succession, the Aussies completely lost their way and could never take the game back to Bangladesh. The home team’s veteran spinner Shakib Al Hasan (4/9) and pacer Mohammad Saifuddin (3/12) ran through the visitors’ middle and lower order on the night.
As it turned out, Wade was the only Australian batter to cross the 20-run mark and McDermott the only other to reach double digits. On another dry, turning pitch, the Australians once again failed to put the ball off the square and succumbed to one more painful, an embarrassing defeat that shall raise alarm bells regarding the talent depth in Australian cricket.
The only positive on the night for the tourists was their bowling performance, which had restricted Bangladesh to what should’ve been a manageable score to chase. Pacers Nathan Ellis (2/16) and Christian (2/17) shared a couple of wickets apiece, while spin duo Ashton Agar (1/28) and Adam Zampa (1/24) also bowled handy spells.
Bangladesh found it difficult to get going as a batting unit as well, given the conditions in Dhaka. The home team also had no stand-out contributions with the bat. Young opener Mohammad Naim was the top scorer for them with a run-a-ball 23, while Soumya Sarkar (16) and skipper Mahmudullah (19) also chipped in. It was, in the end, about Bangladeshi bowlers exploiting the conditions perfectly and shaking up a meagre Australian batting unit.
Brief scores
Bangladesh 122/8 in 20 overs (Naim 23, Mahmudullah 19; Ellis 2/16) beat Australia 62 in 13.4 overs (Wade 22, McDermott 17; Shakib 4/9, Saifuddin 3/12) by 60 runs.
