Sports Desk: Needing only 132 to win, it was Australia who had the upper hand at the halfway mark. But the dismissal of Alex Carey first ball, followed by two more inside the powerplay, meant that they had their backs to the wall early on.
From there, Mitchell Marsh tried to bring Australia into the contest with a patient run-a-ball 45 from No. 3, but wickets at regular intervals – some of them rather unusual – left them 23 short in the end, giving Bangladesh their first T20I victory against Australia in five attempts.
It was spin that hurt Australia the most, a ploy used by Bangladesh right from the first ball. Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed shared the new ball with Mahedi Hasan and finished with 4 for 19, his best in T20s. Mahedi and Shakib Al Hasan picked up early wickets too, and kept things tight all through.
Shakib also made a crucial contribution in the first half after Australia won the toss and opted to bowl, scoring 36 in 33 balls, on a surface that was never easy to bat on. Bangladesh's batters struggled with timing as the Australia bowlers varied their pace well. It took a late cameo from Afif Hossain – 23 in 17 – to take them to 131. In hindsight, it was a fair score on that deck, as the second innings proved.
