Khairul Alam From Chattogram – A fresh captain and renewed hope were not enough to spark a turnaround as Bangladesh’s T20I journey under Towhid Hridoy began on a disappointing note.
Despite winning the toss and opting to bat first in Chattogram, the hosts suffered a severe batting collapse, bowling out for a meager 131 in 19 overs.
The innings started cautiously with openers Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Saif Hassan put up a 26-run stand. However, Tanzid departed after scoring 10 off 9 balls.
Saif followed him two overs later, continuing his poor run from the ODI series, scoring 20 off 14 balls before chipping a simple catch off Matthew Renshaw.
The middle-order failed to steady the ship. Newly appointed skipper Towhid Hridoy started his innings with a massive six but was soon clean-bowled by an Adam Zampa googly for just 8. Soumya Sarkar, playing his first T20I in Chattogram, crawled to 17 off 18 balls before falling victim to the same bowler.
The collapse worsened as Parvez Hossain Emon (5) threw his wicket away with an ambitious shot, leaving Bangladesh reeling at 75 for 5. Shamim Patwari’s irresponsible dismissal shortly after compounded the misery, leaving the hosts at 78 for 6.
Debutant Saqlain showed a glimpse of confidence with a stunning six but was dismissed for 10. When Rishad Hossain fell for 3, Bangladesh had lost 8 wickets for under 100 runs in just 13 overs.
A fighting cameo from Mahedi Hasan saved Bangladesh from absolute humiliation. He remained unbeaten on 29 off 22 balls, and with minor contributions from Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam, Bangladesh managed to stretch the total to 131.
For Australia, Adam Zampa was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 wickets and completing a milestone of 150 T20I career wickets. Xavier Bartlett (Jewel Davis) claimed 3 wickets, while Matthew Renshaw picked up 2.