Bangladesh High Performance (HP) team conceded a 32-run defeat against the Adelaide Strikers in the final of the Top End T20 series at Marrara Oval, Darwin in Australia, on Sunday. Chasing a target of 170 runs, Bangladesh's innings ended at 137.
The visitors won the toss and opted to bowl first, inviting Adelaide to bat. Jake Winter, the hero of the previous match between the two teams, was run out in the second over after scoring just four runs. However, Harry Matthias and Tom O'Connell formed a crucial 59-run partnership to lay the foundation for Adelaide. O'Connell scored 53 off 33 balls, while Matthias added 19. Later, captain Liam Scott and Ryan King took charge, with Scott scoring 30 runs off 18 balls and King contributing 35 runs off 19 balls. Additionally, Sam Rahale chipped in with 20 runs off 13 balls.
Ripon Mondal, who bowled consistently throughout the tour, took two wickets in the final to finish the tournament as the highest wicket-taker with 15 wickets in eight matches. Left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan also had a successful tournament finishing with 12 wickets.
In reply, Jisan Alam and Tanjid Tamim started cautiously but could not build a substantial partnership. Jisan scored 18 runs off 19 balls, while Tanjid contributed 35 runs off 29 balls. The middle order struggled, with Parvez Hossain Emon (3), Afif Hossain (18), skipper Akbar Ali (0) and Shamim Patwari (4) all failing to make significant contributions.
However, Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby's 21, Abu Hider Rony's 7, Rakibul Hasan's 12 and Ripon Mondal's 11 helped to reduce the margin of defeat.
Adelaide's first five bowlers each took two wickets.
The Bangladesh HP team's Australia tour concluded with this match. They won four out of eight matches in the T20 tournament.
Earlier, they drew 1-1 against the Pakistan Shaheens (Pakistan A team) in a four-day series, and in the two one-day matches, they recorded one win and one loss.
