A spirited bowling performance helped Bangladesh stun Australia in the first T20I of the five-match series here at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Tuesday.
Bangladesh defeated Australia by 23 runs in the first T20I and with this win, the hosts have taken a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
The next match will be played at the same venue on Wednesday. Chasing 132, Australia got off to the worst start possible as the side lost Alex Carey (0) on the very first ball of the innings as he was clean bowled by Alex Carey.
Soon after, Josh Philippe (9) and Moises Henriques (1) were also dismissed as Australia was reduced to 11/3 in the third over. Skipper Matthew Wade (13) struggled at the crease and his vigil finally came to an end in the 10th over as he was dismissed by Nasum Ahmed, and Australia was reduced to 49/4, still, 83 runs away from the target.
Wickets kept falling at the other end, and it all boiled down to Mitchell Marsh to take Australia over the line.
However, Marsh (45) perished in the 16th over and in the end, Australia stumbled to a 23-run loss in the first T20I. Nasum Ahmed was the star for Bangladesh as he scalped four wickets.
Earlier, Shakib Al Hasan (36) played an anchor role as Bangladesh posted a total of in the allotted twenty overs. Sent into bat first, Bangladesh got off to a bad start as the side lost both its openers inside the powerplay. Soumya Sarkar (2) and Mohammad Naim (30) both failed to stay at the crease for a long haul.
Mahmudullah (20) and Nurul Hasan (3) also departed cheaply and it all boiled down to Shakib to guide Bangladesh to a defendable total. However, in the 17th over, Josh Hazlewood got the prized scalp of Shakib and Bangladesh was reduced to 104/5.
In the final three overs, Bangladesh managed to add 27 more runs, taking the total past the 130-run mark. For Australia, Hazlewood was the pick of the bowlers as he returned with three wickets.
Brief Scores: Bangladesh 131/7 (Shakib Al Hasan 36, Mohammad Naim 30, Josh Hazlewood 3-24); Australia 108 all out (Mitchell Marsh 45, Mitchell Starc 14, Nasum Ahmed 4-19).
