Australia weaved an exhilarating one-wicket win over Bangladesh in the third and final ODI match to end up on a high note but miss out series victory against hosts here today. While the first two games had already seen Bangladesh win the series, it was in this final game that one of Australia’s most memorable individual performances best formally arrived. Cooper Connolly guided his team home with a thrilling captain’s knock and defined hope.
Bangladesh: 1st Innings Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat. They had several individual contributions rather than a stand out partnership to build their innings Bangladesh suffered an early collapse but a belligerent partnership between Satkhira boy Towhid Hridoy who scored 83 ensured progression in the middle-order. They were also supported by scoreless fifties from Litton Das and Mosaddek Hossain, who batted in the last overs. Bangladesh had a very strong finish thanks to their partnership, as Bangladesh’s bowlers now got themselves in the game posting 274 runs for 5 wickets lost.
The Australian bowlers found some success but were unable to completely keep the clamps on a Bangladesh side that often wrestled their way back into the contest at vital moments in an innings within which there was nothing period of total domination. Although they broke partnerships at regular intervals, Cricket the final overs saw Bangladesh run away with their momentum. Halfway there, it looked a tough target to chase down after Australia had struggled with the bat early in the series.
Another dismal beginning in the chase for the visitors. Australia required a big partnership with the early wickets increasing pressure. It was left to Cooper Connolly, who finished with an innings that will live in the memory for a long time. Wickets kept tumbling at the other end, but he batted with poise and adventure.
His innings were stamped with a careful aggression, rotating the strike before taking risks when necessary. He would end up being the linchpin of Australia’s chase as things developed. In extremely difficult conditions in Dhaka, the left-hander scored his debut ODI century and kept taking on to chase down Mammoth targets.
Connolly, meanwhile, started to feel the effects of the heat and humidity suffering debilitating cramps. There were times when he looked like it would not be possible for him to carry on. But he would not leave the field and played through it – receiving treatment but focused on finishing. That took inspiration from the Australian dressing room and kept the chase going.
Running into the last few overs with Australia requiring rapid runs, Connolly unleashed a breathtaking attack featuring three successive maximums in an over. Those blows totally turned the momentum of the match towards Australia and seemed to put them on course for a comfortable finish.
However, Bangladesh fought back brilliantly. Fast bowler Shoriful Islam expanded on his earlier ODI best with six wickets and set off a collapse. Australia suddenly reeling with danger looming that they would give it away from an almost winning position due to the relentless pressure being applied by him.
It was the tension before Connolly finally left for a stylish 149 off 134 balls. The innings was filled with a stack of boundaries and mammoth sixes, though more importantly it embodied some stellar resilience. With his departure they smelt blood and applied themselves once more for an improbable clean sweep.
Australia lost more wickets and were 271 for 9, with the match on a knife-edge. Only a handful of runs were needed with one wicket still in hand, and the game could have gone either way. In the end, Adam Zampa whipped away a boundary with three balls to go in that over for Australia to pull off a nail-biting one-wicket win.
Although Australia took home an unforgettable win, Bangladesh had multiple reasons to be satisfied. The other denote a historic 2-1 series victory and also their maiden ODI Series win in Australian soil. The hosts showed their continuing improvement and really challenged Australia in the finale of a series, which was extremely tight all through.
And for all else the day belonged to Cooper Connolly. His imperious 149 under pain and pressure changed an arduous chase into one of Australia’s most storied ODIs in several years. This was what you call a courageous innings, an enduring one and above all of high quality in batting.
Read more: India Women Crush Pakistan Women by 64 Runs in T20 World Cup 2026 Opener
