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Australia seek response as Bangladesh close in on landmark series win

Australia seek response as Bangladesh close in on landmark series win

Bangladesh will look to take the chance of a maiden ODI series win against Australia. having taken a 1-0 lead after handing them a drubbing in the first ODI on Tuesday.

Bangladesh made contributions at almost every key juncture in the first match. Tanzid Hasan. Najmul Hossain Shanto got them to a strong position after Saif Hassan's early wicket, before Mosaddek Hossain took charge of the middle order alongside Tawhid Hridoy. Mosaddek excelled in his first international game since 2022, first with his unbeaten 86 and then with two wickets.

Their pace trio of Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and Nahid Rana too contributed with wickets. Taskin. Mustafizur got two early wickets before Rana tore through the middle and lower order with raw pace and relentless hard lengths. By the end, the Australian tail were running for cover as he cranked up to 150kph on a few occasions. Rana claimed four wickets, with his speeds climbing steadily across his three spells, touching 150kph on occasions.

Australia had started brightly with the ball, only for their fielding to unravel badly. Mosaddek was dropped three times, while Shanto was also reprieved during his innings. Their fielding was equally sloppy, which completed a woeful outing for the visitors.

One of the bright spots for Australia was Cameron Green, who made a half-century from No. 6, though his innings raised questions about whether he should bat higher up the order. Australia are however unlikely to make significant changes for the second ODI. Alex Carey, in the post-match press conference on Tuesday, urged his side to remain calm despite the loss, saying the quick turnaround between matches offered them an immediate opportunity to regroup, reflect,. work their way back into the series.

Bangladesh WWWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first) Australia LLWLL

In the spotlight: Mosaddek Hossain and Nathan Ellis

In Mosaddek Hossain, Bangladesh found the stability that they had missed for a long time in their middle order. Mosaddek took on Australia bowlers. while also continuously rotating the strike when he walked out to bat at 140 for 4 in the 26th over. Out came his array of shots over extra cover and powerful hitting straight down the ground. Mosaddek has also added the switch-hits to his repertoire.

Nathan Ellis kept Australia in shape during the first ODI, with his combination of excellent new-ball bowling. change-up deliveries throughout his ten overs. Ellis is not exactly a stranger to Bangladesh conditions, having taken a hat-trick on his T20I debut here in 2021. But these were slightly more helpful conditions for fast bowling, as he used the early movement to his advantage. Later, Ellis used slower balls to remove Tanzid Hasan and tail-ender Tanvir Islam. Australia will hope Ellis delivers similar punches in the second ODI.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tanzid Hasan. 2 Saif Hassan, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Tawhid Hridoy, 5 Litton Das (wk), 6 Mosaddek Hossain, 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Nahid Rana

Will Australia tinker with their playing XI? They have spin options in Todd Murphy. Matthew Kuhnemann, a pacer in Ben Dwarshuis and a batting allrounder Oliver Peake.

Australia (probable): 1 Matt Short. 2 Cooper Connolly, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Josh Inglis (capt & wk), 5 Alex Carey, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Matt Renshaw, 8 Liam Scott, 9 Xavier Bartlett, 10 Nathan Ellis, 11 Adam Zampa

Bangladesh had said they should have scored 320 instead of 284 in the first ODI at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. so another batting-friendly pitch can be expected. There are, however, concerns about the weather, with some rain forecast for Thursday in Dhaka.

Mosaddek Hossain won a player-of-the-match award in ODIs after seven years during the first match on Tuesday. Adam Zampa bowled as the fifth-change bowler for the first time in his ODI career on Tuesday. Nahid Rana's four-wicket haul in the first ODI took him to 31 wickets in nine matches this year. the most by any fast bowler in 2026.

Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/australia-in-bangladesh-2026-1532475/bangladesh-vs-australia-2nd-odi-1532481/match-preview

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