Written by Megan Taylor, sports reporter covering international sports since 2020
Australia vs Bangladesh T20 action in Chattogram ended with Australia claiming a four-wicket win on Wednesday, as Adam Zampa and debutant Joel Davies led a spin-heavy bowling display to secure a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Bangladesh chose to bat first but were bowled out for 131 in 19 overs, with nine of the 10 wickets falling to spin. Australia then reached 6-133 with 10 balls remaining, despite a shaky chase.
For more cricket coverage, read Australia Women vs Bangladesh Women: Georgia Voll leads nine-wicket T20 World Cup win. Fans can also follow official updates through the ICC cricket website.
Zampa and Davies take control
Bangladesh started quickly but lost momentum once Australia’s slow bowlers settled into the match. Davies made an early impact, removing Parvez Hossain Emon with only his second international delivery.
The left-arm spinner finished with 3-17, while Zampa claimed 3-18 and became the first Australian to take 150 wickets in men’s T20 internationals when Shoriful Islam picked out Tim David.
Nikhil Chaudhary also impressed on debut, taking 1-14 and holding two catches. His diving effort at deep cover to remove Soumya Sarkar off Zampa was one of the cleanest fielding moments of the innings.
Connolly steadies uneven chase
Mahedi Hasan finished unbeaten on 29, while Saif Hassan made 20 and Soumya scored 17, but Bangladesh could not build a total strong enough to pressure Australia for long.
Josh Inglis and captain Mitch Marsh fell early in the reply before Cooper Connolly steadied the chase with 47 from 27 balls. The left-hander struck three sixes and looked set for a first T20 international half-century before holing out to Shoriful off debutant Abdul Gaffar Saqlain.
Tim David, Chaudhary and Matt Renshaw all fell with the finish line close, giving Bangladesh a late opening. Xavier Bartlett ended the match with a boundary from his first ball as Australia moved ahead in the series before Friday’s second T20 in Chattogram.