Australia vs Bangladesh: 5th T20I, August 9, 2021, Australia Tour of Bangladesh Match Prediction

Match Predictions

Australia’s inconsistent run in T20Is continued as they slumped to successive defeats in the first two T20Is. The slow nature of the track and the spinners have dominated the first two T20Is and Australia really struggled to cope with the conditions. Australia’s batting couldn’t get going in the first two games. In the first T20I, they couldn’t hunt down 132 and lost by 23 runs before they put on 121/7 in their 20 overs in the second game. The Australian batsmen have found it tough work and haven’t been able to cope with the slow nature of the surfaces in Dhaka. Meanwhile, the bowlers have done a decent job but the batters’ inability to adapt and get significant runs on the board has meant that Australia are 0-2 down in this five-match T20I series.

Bangladesh’s batting hasn’t really taken off either but they have done enough to get the better of the Aussies. They have had players chipping in with vital contributions throughout the batting order. The hosts have found players standing up at crucial junctures in both the T20Is so far. Meanwhile, the bowling has been top-notch and the Bangladesh bowlers have made full use of the conditions. The fast bowlers have taken the pace off beautifully and the spinners have been dominant and it is the bowlers who have put Bangladesh ahead in this series.

Bangladesh and Australia rarely play bilateral series in any format. Australia have been absolutely dominant against Bangladesh across all formats but Bangladesh have managed to pull a couple back in this series. This is the first time ever they have won two successive games against Australia in any format.

Australia are without a slew of their first-choice players. However, that doesn’t take away anything from the fact that Bangladesh have been clinical and have adapted to conditions much better. Bangladesh might start as slight favourites but Australia can be expected to bounce back.

Summary

Before the start of this series, Australia have won each of the four T20Is against Bangladesh. All those four encounters had come in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cups. However, that has changed after the first two games of this series and it’s become 2-4 with Bangladesh winning their first two T20Is. Remember, this is the first-ever bilateral T20I between these two sides and Bangladesh are on the verge of a historic series win. In fact, Bangladesh had just two wins over Australia in international cricket (across formats) before the start of this series from 31 matches.