Bangladesh produced a spirited batting effort but ultimately fell seven runs short against Australia in a high-scoring second T20 International in Chattogram on Friday, as the visitors clinched the three-match series 2-0 with one game to spare.
Chasing a challenging 197-run target after Australia posted 196 for 5, Bangladesh finished on 189 for 6 despite a blistering start and several promising contributions throughout the innings. The narrow defeat ended Bangladesh’s hopes of securing back-to-back T20I series wins over Australia on home soil.
The match turned into an entertaining contest in front of a packed crowd at Bir Shrestha Shaheed Flight Lieutenant Motiur Rahman Stadium, with Bangladesh showing far greater intent than in the opening game but once again failing to hold their nerve in crucial middle overs.
Earlier, Australia recovered brilliantly after Bangladesh’s bowlers reduced them to 44 for 3 inside the powerplay. Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed and pacers Nahid Rana and Mustafizur Rahman struck early to put the visitors under pressure.
However, Australian batter Matt Renshaw anchored the innings superbly with an unbeaten 89 off 52 balls, hitting four boundaries and five sixes. He found strong support from Tim David, who blasted 45 off 26 balls as the pair added a game-changing 97-run partnership.
For Bangladesh, Nasum was the standout bowler with 2 for 27 from four overs.
In reply, Bangladesh came out aggressively, with openers Tanzid Hasan and Soumya Sarkar putting Australia immediately on the back foot. The hosts raced to 72 runs in the powerplay — their highest-ever powerplay total against Australia in T20 internationals.
Tanzid smashed 30 off 15 balls, while Parvez Hossain Emon played an exciting knock of 36 from 22 deliveries. Saif Hassan looked well set for a match-winning innings with 42 off 33 balls, while stand-in captain Towhid Hridoy kept Bangladesh alive with a fighting 35 off 22 balls.
But the game slipped away between the 13th and 18th overs when Bangladesh lost momentum despite being in a commanding position at 130 for 2. A series of dot balls and regular wickets pushed the required rate beyond reach.
Australian bowlers Aaron Hardie and Nathan Ellis delivered under pressure in the death overs, with Hardie dismissing Hridoy off the final ball to seal victory.
Despite the defeat, Bangladesh showed significant improvement with the bat, but costly middle-order hesitation and earlier lapses in fielding proved decisive as Australia wrapped up the series before the final match.
