Bangladesh stun Australia to claim maiden ODI series win

DHAKA (Agencies): Bangladesh secured a landmark ​series victory over a second-string Australian side with a composed chase in a rain-affected second One-Day ‌International in Dhaka on Thursday, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match contest. Set a revised target of 192 in 41 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, Bangladesh recovered from the early loss of Tanzid Hasan for a duck as ​Soumya Sarkar and Najmul Hossain Shanto steadied the innings with identical knocks of 42. After their departures, ​Mehidy Hasan Miraz anchored the chase with a captain’s knock of 22 not ⁠out, holding firm alongside Towhid Hridoy who scored an unbeaten 40, as the pair guided Bangladesh home ​in 35 overs. Miraz, who was struck on the helmet by speedster Nathan Ellis towards the end of ​the chase, went for medical check-ups after scoring the winning runs. “Winning the series means a lot, but I can’t tell you in words, it’s an amazing feeling,” said Najmul Hossain Shanto, who attended the post-match presentation ceremony in place of ​Miraz. “The way we played this series, we showed a lot of courage. “We have been working really hard ​the last few months, and we wanted to improve our game. The way we played the last two matches is ‌outstanding, ⁠and I’m really proud to be part of this team.”

POOR START FOR AUSTRALIA:

Earlier, Australia endured their worst-ever start in a 50-overs innings after electing to bat, slumping to three wickets for zero. Marnus Labuschagne led the recovery with a half-century to lift the visitors to 187 for eight in 42 overs before rain ​interrupted play. Australia were without ​captain Mitchell Marsh, who was ⁠ruled out of the ODI series due to an ankle injury, while spinner Tanveer Sangha also missed the tour and opener Travis Head was rested. Stand-in skipper ​Josh Inglis conceded Australia had been outplayed across the series but said the ​team would ⁠look to sign off on a positive note in the final match. “We’ve had guys get starts, but we haven’t had anyone go on and make a meaningful contribution,” Inglis said at the post-match presentation ceremony. “We’ve let ourselves ⁠down ​a bit on that, but Bangladesh have outplayed us so ​far in this series, so congratulations to them.” The result handed Bangladesh their first ODI series win over the six-time world champions. The ​third and final match is scheduled for Sunday.

Brief scores:

Bangladesh 195 for 5 (Soumya 42, Shanto 42, Hridoy 40 not out) beat Australia 187 for 8 (Labuschagne 55 not out, Bartlett 52, Mustafizur 3-27, Taskin 3-33) by five wickets.