BAN vs AUS: Bangladesh stun Australia yet again, win second T20I by five wickets

Bangladesh stunned Australia yet again as the hosts defeated Matthew Wade and company by five wickets in the second T20I at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday. With this win, Bangladesh have taken a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. The hosts defeated Australia by 23 runs in the series opener.  

After electing to bat first, Bangladesh seamer Mustafizur Rahman tore apart the Australian batting line-up as he returned with clincal figures, which read 3/23 in 4 overs. Riding on his valiant effort, the hosts restricted Australia for a paltry 121/7 in 20 overs.   

Bangladesh lead the five-match T20I series 2-0!

Afif Hossain and Nurul Hasan share an unbeaten 56-run stand to guide their side to a five-wicket win 

https://t.co/1c6I7YaBu1 | #BANvAUS pic.twitter.com/BuIv9DCz2S — ICC (@ICC) August 4, 2021

Mahedi Hasan inflicted the first blow on Bangladesh by removing Alex Carey on 11 from 11 deliveries. Following which, Mustafizur then dismissed his opening partner Josh Philippe right before the end of powerplay. 

Moises Henriques along with Mitchell Marsh then tried to rebuild the Australian inning and went on to add 57 runs for the third wicket. However, after this Australia lost four wickets in the span of 18 runs and could only manage 121 in 20 overs.

In response to Australia's 121/7, Bangladesh chased down the target with 1.2 overs to spare and won the contest by five wickets. 

Mitchell Starc provided the tourists with a good start as he cleaned up opener Soumya Sarkar on 0. Bangladesh then lost Mohammad Naim on 9 from 13 deliveries. 

Experienced candidate Shakib Al Hasan along with Mahedi Hasan played a perfect knock to guide their side close to win. However, the duo were removed in quick succession and it looked like troubled mounted on the hosts as at one stage Australia packed five batsmen with just 67 on the board.  

With no pressure of the required run-rate climbing and a sensible batting display by Afif Hossain and wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hasan saw Bangladesh through. The pair finished unbeaten with Hossain closing the match unbeaten on 37 off 31 deliveries, while Hasan scored 22 off 21 balls.