Analytical review of the third ODI between Australia and Bangladesh in Darwin on September 6, 2008.

Australia trampled Bangladesh by 73 runs in the third ODI held in Darwin on Saturday. Australia whitewashed the three-match series against the minnows in the most ruthless manner. Bangladesh was beaten by 180 runs in the first match, by 8 wickets in the second match and by 73 runs in the low-scoring last ODI. More than the final outcome of the series, it is the magnitude of defeat which is more humiliating for the visitors.

Bangladesh showed spine by putting up a good show against the Aussies. The decision to bat first did win Australia the match but helped Bangladeshi bowlers in regaining their confidence. The Australian batsmen did not stutter or throw their wickets around but they certainly were restricted by a very tight spin attack and an agile fielding side.

Mike Hussey performed yet again, scoring 57 in this match. Bangladesh succeeded in limiting Australia to an achievable target not owing to one particular bowler but as a collective effort. The target was realistically playable and with Tamim Iqbal’s explosive opening streak, it appeared possible too. However, it was batting again which failed Bangladesh. Out of complacence of restricting the world champs to a small total or out of habit of non-performance, Bangladeshi batsmen lost their wickets at regular intervals.

It must have been particularly frustrating for the coach Jamie Siddons and captain Mohammad Ashraful who were eyeing an upset victory to clean some muck off their name after giving sad performances in this series. The callousness on the batsmen’s part becomes obvious when a glance at scorecard shows that only two batsmen except Tamim reached a double-digit score!

The series loss could be fatal for Ashraful whose side has won only two matches out of past 30 games it has played and that too against non-test nations Ireland and United Arab Emirates. He has also been out of form, passing the fifty-mark only four times in the past 30 matches.

For Australia, the stand-in skipper Michael Clarke has emerged as a potential leader. Defeating Bangladesh by 3-0 is no achievement by the Australian standards but the conditions this time were different from usual. The team went in without its regular captain, opener, strike bowler and all-rounder and still managed to squash its opposition. Australia has shown why they are the champs.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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