Bangladesh has written a glorious new chapter in its cricketing history, securing a historic, first-ever men's ODI series win over the reigning world champions Australia, on June 11.Playing at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, the Tigers cruised to a revised DLS target of 192, wrapping up the chase with five wickets and 36 balls to spare.
Having registered only their second-ever ODI win against Australia just two days prior, Bangladesh wasted no time adding a third to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Bangladesh's first-ever ODI series win over Australia
After stand-in Australian skipper Josh Inglis won the toss and elected to bat, the visitors suffered a catastrophic, unprecedented collapse. The Aussies slumped to their worst-ever start in ODI history, losing their first three wickets without a single run on the scoreboard ($0/3$).While a determined rescue act from Marnus Labuschagne and Xavier Bartlett dragged Australia back into the contest and helped post a fighting total, the early damage proved too severe against a relentless Bangladeshi unit.
This triumph cements Bangladesh's reputation as the absolute form side in the 50-over format, particularly in their own backyard. The Tigers have been virtually unstoppable at home, stringing together four straight ODI series victories since October.
Prior to this series, Australia completely dominated the bilateral history between the two nations, sweeping all four of their previous 50-over series by a 3-0 margin. However, the tides have officially turned in Dhaka. Bangladesh have now defeated Australia in back-to-back series across formats, building on their famous 4-1 T20I series win in 2021. The high-flying hosts will have an immediate opportunity to extend their winning streak when the two teams clash again in the shortest format of the game next week.
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Australia's catastrophic batting collapse
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Australian captain Josh Inglis watched in disbelief as his top-order completely disintegrated around him. In a nightmare start, Matt Short, Cooper Connolly, and Matt Renshaw were all dismissed for ducks, leaving the visitors reeling at a staggering 0/3.
Taskin Ahmed ignited the collapse by bowling Short in the very first over after the opener misjudged and left a straight delivery. Mustafizur Rahman then took over from the other end, removing both Connolly and Renshaw caught behind on consecutive deliveries. The veteran left-arm quick wasn't done yet; he picked up his third scalp shortly after by inducing an edge from Alex Carey (13), who sliced a catch straight to Najmul Hossain Shanto at point.
Inglis looked comfortable during his brief stay, scoring a fluent 34 before holing out to deep cover off the spin of Tanvir Islam. The disaster deepened in the 22nd over when Cameron Green departed for 25, leaving Australia in a massive hole at 81/6.
However, a desperately needed rescue act arrived when Xavier Bartlett joined Marnus Labuschagne at the crease. Bartlett counter-attacked brilliantly, blasting a quickfire 52 off just 48 balls, while Labuschagne played the anchor role, steadily building from the other end.
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The fighting partnership was eventually broken when Taskin Ahmed bowled Bartlett. The Bangladeshi seamer immediately put himself on a hat-trick by trapping Adam Zampa for a golden duck on the very next ball. Nathan Ellis managed to survive the high-stakes hat-trick delivery, which struck his pads but was tracking too high and down the leg-side.
Rain then halted play with Australia standing at 187/8. Labuschagne remained unbeaten on 55*—a crucial, gritty knock given his recent slump in form, having registered scores of 0, 5, and 19 against Pakistan, and just 1 in the series opener. During the weather delay, Australian selector Tony Dodemaide was spotted near the boundary offering the relieved batter a reassuring pat on the back.
Bangladesh's smart chase
Due to the persistent rain delay, the match was truncated, presenting Bangladesh with a revised DLS target of 192 runs from 41 overs. The chase hit an immediate bump when opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim was dismissed off just the second ball of the innings, courtesy of a sharp caught-and-bowled by Xavier Bartlett. Undeterred by the early blow, the hosts steadied the ship with a commanding 86-run partnership to keep the required run rate well within check.
Australia clawed their way back into the contest momentarily when Adam Zampa had Mosaddek Hossain (15) caught by Cooper Connolly, reducing Bangladesh to 144/5 and giving the Aussies a glimmer of hope.
However, any chances of an Australian comeback were firmly snuffed out by an ice-cool, unbeaten partnership between Tawhid Hridoy (40)* and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (22)*. The definitive blow came in the 35th over, where Riley Meredith was taken to the cleaners for 21 runs, capped off by a massive, match-winning six from Miraz to comfortably seal a historic series victory for the Tigers.