Bangladesh vs Australia shifted into the third T20I in Chattogram on Sunday with Bangladesh choosing to bat first. Australia arrived with an unchanged XI and a chance to complete a 3-0 series sweep in Asia, a result that would sit on top of a tour already shaped by narrow margins.
Towhid Hridoy and Mitch Marsh
Towhid Hridoy led Bangladesh after the toss, while Mitch Marsh kept the same Australia side that had already edged the first two T20Is. The decision left Bangladesh with three changes to their XI: Mustafizur Rahman, Soumya Sarkar and Abdul Saqlain were out, and Nurul Hasan, Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam came in.
Australia had already won the first T20I by four wickets on June 17 and the second by seven runs on June 19. The margin in the second match was tight enough to leave the series alive, but it also put the visitors one win away from a clean sweep that has not come easily for them in Asia.
Matthew Renshaw's 52-ball 89
Matthew Renshaw provided the strongest batting case for the visitors in the previous T20I, making 89 not out from 52 balls as Australia posted 5-196. That innings gave Australia just enough to survive another close finish at the same venue two days earlier.
The broader challenge sits behind the scoreline. Australia failed to make the knockout stages of a third consecutive T20 World Cup four months earlier, and that run included losses to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in the most recent men's ICC event. A sweep in Chattogram would not erase that record, but it would show they can still control a short series in Asian conditions.
Asia sweep on the line
Australia also carried form from the rest of the tour, having won the third ODI by one wicket after Bangladesh took the first ODI by 86 runs by the DLS Method and the second by five wickets by the DLS Method. The numbers through the trip have swung back and forth, but the T20I series now sits on one final result.
Joel Davies and Nikhil Chaudhary have already made their international debuts this week, Aaron Hardie and Spencer Johnson have returned after spells out of the side, and Cooper Connolly has been pushed higher up the order. For Australia, the task is plain: finish the series in Chattogram and leave Asia with the first bilateral T20I sweep of at least three matches on their record.
