cricket played as All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan triggered a middle-order collapse as Bangladesh thrashed Australia by 60 runs in the fifth Twenty20 international in Dhaka on to secure a handsome 4-1 series win over the touring side.
Set a target of 123, Australia were bowled out for 62 in 13.4 overs — their lowest total in T20s — as Shakib completed figures of 4-9, superbly assisted by Mohammad Saifuddin (3-12) and Nusum Ahmed (2-8). Bangladesh won the toss and openers Mahedi Hasan (13) and Mohammad Naim (23) got their innings off to a quick start with a partnership of 42 before Australia fought back, giving away just 20 runs in the last five overs as the hosts finished on 122-8.
The bowlers all chipped in, with Nathan Ellis (2-16) and Dan Christian (2-17) using their variations to great effect on a wicket where runs were hard to come by as the innings wore on. It was Australia’s second straight T20 series loss following defeat in the West Indies.
Player of the match and the series Shakib Al Hasan commented that “I’m still enjoying the game, that’s the important thing. Thanks to my team-mates, this achievement wouldn’t have been possible without their help. I think we played some really good cricket through two series, in Zimbabwe and here. Obviously the wicket was tough, but we held our nerve well. All in all a team effort. If you look at the last match, we scored 104-105 and the game still went to the last over. So we knew if we score 120-130 we’ll always be in the game. We started well with the bat today that gave us momentum. I think the bowlers did a fantastic job throughout this series. We’re trying to improve all our areas. Our fast bowlers are also doing well, look at Mustafiz, Shoriful, Taskin. They make our (spinners’) job easy. And we’re contributing well in our part too. [On being told he’s the first from Bangladesh to score 1000 runs and take 100 wickets in T20Is] – Has anyone else done it? [Malanga] I guess he didn’t score 1000 runs. [So he keeps track of records] Sometimes I keep track of records,”
