Bangladesh 2 - 0 Australia

Bangladesh went 2-0 up in the ongoing five-match T20 series by beating Australia by five wickets.

Bangladesh were under immense pressure at one stage but a match-winning 56-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Afif Hossain and Nurul Hasan helped Bangladesh chase down 122 with eight balls remaining.

Followed by a superb bowling performance from the pace bowling duo of Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam, Afif and Nurul held their nerves in a tricky chase.

Earlier, Bangladesh lost the toss yet again and this time Australia captain Matthew Wade decided to bat first, unlike the first T20I. 

Australia didn't have the best of starts with the bat. Bangladesh stuck to the tactic of bowling spinners in the powerplay and it worked pretty well for them. Alex Carey struck two boundaries off Nasum Ahmed in the second over, both off reverse sweeps. But he couldn't make a big score as Mahedi Hasan removed him in the next over. This was the second time Carey was dismissed by Mahedi in the series.

Pace was introduced for the first time in the match in the sixth over and straightaway there was a success.

Mustafizur Rahman outwitted Josh Phillippe with a cutter. It was a shortish delivery and Phillippe was bowled after being flummoxed by the slowness of the delivery and the pitch. The right-hander scored 10 off 14 balls. Australia couldn't score more than 32 in the powerplay and in the process lost both their openers. 

Mitchell Marsh carried his form from the previous match. The right-handed batter found an ally in Moises Henriques and put on an important partnership of 57 off 8.2 overs before the latter missed the slog sweep and was bowled by Shakib Al Hasan just when the duo started to look threatening. 

Australia looked to accelerate in the last five overs but lost the well-set Marsh in the 17th over. Shoriful Islam accounted for his wicket. Marsh was the top scorer for Australia with 45 off 42 balls. 

Mustafizur Rahman got two in two in the 18th over, uprooting the stump of skipper Wade and then getting Ashton Agar out caught behind off a slower delivery. 

Bangladesh kept on putting pressure on Australia. Mustafizur and Shoriful bowled a lot of slower balls into the pitch and Australia batters found it very difficult to find a way to score boundaries. 

Australia couldn't manage more than 31 runs in the last five overs. Mustafizur was absolutely brilliant, picking up three key wickets conceding only 23 runs. He got good support from Shoriful who bagged a couple. Bangladesh restricted Australia to 121 for seven after 20 overs.

Soumya Sarkar's stay in the crease was a short one again as Mitchell Starc got the better of him in the third over. Shakib walked out to bat at three and counterattacked. The left-hander hit three consecutive boundaries off Starc in that over. 

Josh Hazlewood struck in the next over, sending back Mohammad Naim who scored nine off 13 balls. 

Mahedi was sent ahead of the genuine batters to play the role of a pinch hitter. Bangladesh scored 38 for the loss of two wickets in the powerplay.

Shakib batted with a positive mindset until he was outdone by an Andrew Tye knuckleball. Shakib scored 26 off 17 including four fours and when he got out, the hosts needed 64 off 69 balls with seven wickets in hand. 

Australia came back strongly into the match by dismissing skipper Mahmudullah. The Bangladesh skipper was played on by Ashton Agar in a rather unfortunate fashion. Bangladesh then were under some pressure at 59 for four in the 10th over.

Mahedi played and missed multiple times and was given a few reprieves. He spent some time in the crease but got out in the 12th over playing a shot which was uncalled for. Mahedi's dismissal left the hosts wobbling at 67 for five, still requiring 55 off 8.4 overs to win with just five wickets in hand.

The onus was then on Afif Hossain and Nurul Hasan to keep the scoreboard moving as well as preserve their wickets. 

They had a nice little partnership going and brought the equation down to 32 off five overs. 

The 16th over bowled by Starc was a very productive one for Bangladesh. The left-arm pacer was hit for a boundary off the first ball by Nurul. Afif Hossain played a magnificent drive over cover off Starc in the same over. 13 came off that over, making the job easier for the duo.

Afif and Nurul saw the team home with an unbeaten 56-run stand for the third wicket. The former finished the game with a ramp over the keeper's head and Bangladesh reached the target with eight balls to spare and five wickets in hand. Afif was unbeaten on 37 off 31 with the help of five fours and a six. Nurul Hasan too played a good hand of 22 off 21. 

Afif was adjudged man of the match for his brilliant match-winning knock. He said at the post-match presentation that he always knew they could chase the total if he stayed at the crease until the end. 

"When I came, I thought I have to stay in the wicket till the end. Whatever the required rate maybe, I knew I could manage. We knew we had to stay calm, keep wickets in hand. Sohan (Nurul) bhai played well so there was no pressure on me either."

"When I came, I thought I have to stay in the wicket till the end. Whatever the required rate maybe, I knew I could manage. We knew we had to stay calm, keep wickets in hand. Sohan (Nurul) bhai played well so there was no pressure on me either," Afif said. 

Skipper Mahmudullah said it was pleasing to see such maturity from both Afif and Sohan to guide the team home, he also praised Shakib for his valuable performance with both bat and ball. 

"It's very pleasing to see Afif and Sohan stand up, carry us to the end. Showed maturity. And upfront our bowlers did very well to restrict them to 120. But Shakib was very important with bowling and batting, shows how important he is to the team. Losing few early wickets causing tension in the dressing room, but the way Afif and Sohan (Nurul batted), it was a lot of relief. I think Mustafizur has always been there in these conditions, and effective too. Shoriful bowled really well and all the bowlers chipped in too. We are taking it game by game," Mahmudullah said.

Bangladesh will face Australia in the third T20I on Friday.