Bangladesh inflicted a humiliating defeat of 60 runs to Australia in the fifth and final T20 match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Monday.
It was definitely a humiliating defeat for Australia as they scored only 62 which is the lowest total for them in T20s.
The win also meant the Tigers, who had already clinched the series, ended with 4 wins in the 5-match series.
Chasing a modest total of 122, set by the Tigers, Australia could not stand a chance before the lethal bowling attack of Tigers, led by Shakib al Hasan and pacer Saifuddin. They scalped 4 and 3 wickets respectively to dismiss Australia in their lowest ever T20 score of 62. From getting hit for 5 sixes in the previous match to coming back to fetch a four-fer shows the class and calibre of Shakib. This was also the quickest Australia have been bowled out in all international cricket as it took just 13.4 overs to get them dismissed, and their previous low was 14.3 overs.
Bangladesh spinner Nasum Ahmed celebrates after picking up a wicket against Australia in the 5th and final T20 match in Mirpur on Monday. Photo: Kazi Borhan Uddin
That’s as comprehensive as it gets for Bangladesh. They've taken the series 4-1, and that is a flattering margin for Australia. The pitches weren’t the easiest to bat on, but this is still a proper stomping by the Tigers. The amount of glee that has been spread over the last week thanks to this effort from the Bangladesh side who have been fantastic throughout the series. This has been a monumental effort by the Tigers.
Defending a modest total of 122, Tigers started off brilliantly with the bowl again as spinner Nasum Ahmed dismissed both Dan Christian (3) and Mitchell Marsh (4) early, leaving Australia at 17/2 after 3.5 overs. Aussie skipper Matthew Wade, who experienced dismal series with the bat tried to redeem himself but Shakib al Hasan didn’t give him that chance and bowled him at 22. Wickets then started to fall at regular intervals as skipper Mahmudullah Riyad dismissed Aussie batsmen Ben McDermott (17).
Then came in Saifuddin and removed Alex Carey (3) and Moises Henriques (3) in the same over, leaving Australia reeling at 54/6 after 11 overs. Another defeat was looming for the Aussies. However, they didn’t know it was going to be a humiliating one for them. They lost the last 4 wickets by scoring just 8 runs.
Earlier, Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah won the toss and elected to bat first, scored a modest total of 122/8 against the visitors. In the early overs, Tigers started off brilliantly with the bat. However they couldn’t capitalise on that start, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and failed to score a good total. Tigers only managed to score only 20 runs in the last five overs, losing three wickets during the crucial period. Mohammad Naim was the top scorer for the team with his 23-run innings. For Australia, pacer Nathan Ellis and Dan Christian grabbed 2 wickets each.