Mustafizur Rahman, Afif Hossain star as Bangladesh defeat Australia in second T20I, take 2-0 series lead

By ANI

DHAKA: Mustafizur Rahman’s three-wicket haul and Afif Hossain’s unbeaten 37-run knock helped Bangladesh defeat Australia by five wickets in the second T20I of the five-match series here at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Wednesday.

With this win, Bangladesh has taken a 2-0 lead in the five-match series against Australia. The third T20I will be played on Friday.

Chasing 122, Bangladesh got off to a bad start as Soumya Sarkar (0) was clean bowled by Mitchell Starc in just the third over of the innings. In the very next over, Mohammad Naim (9) was sent back to the pavilion by Josh Hazlewood, reducing Bangladesh to 21/2. Shakib also departed after playing a knock of 26, and Bangladesh was reduced to 58/3 in the 9th over, still needing 64 runs for the win.

However, Afif Hossain (37*) and Nurul Hasan (22*) chipped in with some crucial runs as Bangladesh registered a five-wicket victory with eight balls to spare.

Earlier, Mustafizur Rahman scalped three as Australia was reduced to below-par 121/7 in the allotted twenty overs. Australia lost both its openers inside the powerplay overs as Alex Carey (11) and Josh Philippe (10) failed to leave a mark and the visitors were reduced to 31/2 in the sixth over.

Mitchell Marsh (45) and Moises Henriques (30) then retrieved the innings for Australia as the duo put on 57 runs for the third wicket, but they were not able to register regular boundaries. As a result, pressure started mounting and once they were dismissed, Australia’s innings derailed and the side was reduced to under the 125-run mark.

Brief Scores

Australia 121/7 (Mitchell Marsh 45, Moises Henriques 30, Mustafizur Rahman 3-23); Bangladesh 123/5 (Afif Hossain 37*, Nurul Hasan 22*, Ashton Agar 1-17)