Australia secured a four-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the opening T20 International in Chattogram on Wednesday, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after chasing down a target of 132 with 10 balls to spare.
The tourists were set a modest target after Bangladesh were bowled out for 131 in 19 overs, with leg-spinner Adam Zampa and debutant Joel Davies starring with three wickets each.
Bangladesh made a lively start after choosing to bat first. Saif Hassan struck 20 and Tanzid Hasan added 10 as the hosts raced to 26 without loss inside three overs. However, the introduction of spin quickly changed the course of the innings.
Spencer Johnson made the breakthrough by dismissing Tanzid, while Matt Renshaw removed Saif and later accounted for Shamim Hossain. Zampa then dismantled the middle order with figures of 3-18 from four overs. The Australian spinner trapped stand-in captain Towhid Hridoy for eight with a googly and later dismissed Soumya Sarkar for 17.
Zampa also reached a personal milestone, claiming his 150th T20 wicket when Shoriful Islam was caught at long-off.
Left-arm spinner Davies enjoyed an impressive international debut, returning figures of 3-17. He struck twice in quick succession to remove wicketkeeper Parvez Hossain Emon for 10 and fellow debutant Abdul Gaffar Saqlain for 10. Another debutant, Nikhil Chaudhary, also chipped in with the wicket of Rishad Hossain.
Bangladesh slipped to 108-9 before Mahedi Hasan provided late resistance with an unbeaten 29 from 22 balls. He attacked Davies with three consecutive boundaries in the 19th over, but the spinner had the final say, trapping Mustafizur Rahman lbw for seven after a successful review to end the innings one over early.
Australia's chase began shakily when Shoriful bowled Josh Inglis for five after the batter missed an attempted reverse ramp. However, Cooper Connolly immediately counter-attacked, taking the pressure off the visitors with a flurry of boundaries and a six against Shoriful.
Mustafizur removed captain Mitchell Marsh for 13, but Connolly continued to dominate, helping Australia reach 47-2 at the end of the powerplay. The left-hander struck 47 from just 27 deliveries, including four fours and three sixes, before he was caught at long-on off Saqlain.
Tim David maintained the momentum with a rapid 20, including a 98-metre six off Mahedi. The Bangladesh all-rounder responded immediately, dismissing David on the next ball as Australia slipped to 89-4.
With the match briefly in the balance, Renshaw and Chaudhary added 24 runs to move the visitors closer to victory. Bangladesh created late tension when leg-spinner Rishad dismissed Chaudhary for 18 following a successful review, while Saqlain claimed his second wicket by removing Renshaw for 18 in the 19th over.
Any hopes of a dramatic finish were ended by Xavier Bartlett, who drove Saqlain through the covers for four to seal the chase in 18.2 overs. Saqlain finished with figures of 2-32 on his international debut.
Australia's disciplined bowling performance, led by Zampa and Davies, laid the foundation for victory before Connolly's aggressive top-order innings and the lower-order contributions of Renshaw and Chaudhary guided the visitors to a winning start in the series.
.jpg "Messi remains Golden Ball favourite, Mbappé leads scoreboard")
