Bangladesh will aim to salvage some pride and avoid a series whitewash when they take on Australia in the third and final T20 International at Bir Shrestha Shaheed Flight Lieutenant
Motiur Rahman
Stadium in Chattogram today (Sunday).
The match is scheduled to begin at 2 PM local time.
Having already secured the series with victories in the first two matches, Australia lead the three-match contest 2-0. The visitors won the opening game by four wickets before edging Bangladesh by seven runs in a closely fought second encounter.
Bangladesh entered the T20 series with high expectations after clinching the preceding ODI series 2-1 against Australia. However, they have failed to replicate that success in the shortest format.
The hosts' batting struggled in the first match, while an improved performance in the second game still proved insufficient.
Chasing a challenging target, Bangladesh raced to 72-1 in the first six overs, their highest Powerplay score against Australia in T20 internationals but lost momentum during the middle overs and eventually fell short.
Stand-in captain Towhid Hridoy said the team had identified areas that needed improvement and remained confident of ending the series on a positive note.
"We played really good cricket, but there are a couple of areas we need to develop," Hridoy said.
"Those who are set need to carry on a little bit more for the team. Whenever someone gets set, they need to play bigger innings. We have to chase this kind of match, otherwise we face disappointment. However, we believe we can overcome."
Bangladesh will again be without regular captain Liton Das, who was ruled out of the entire series due to injury. The hosts could make changes to their playing XI, with pace bowler Taskin Ahmed likely to replace leg-spinner Rishad Hossain, who has struggled in the series.
Australia, meanwhile, have bounced back strongly from their ODI series defeat. The T20 triumph has also provided some measure of redemption following their 4-1 series loss to Bangladesh in 2021.
Australian captain Mitchell Marsh expressed satisfaction with his side's performance but insisted they remained focused on completing a clean sweep.
"Obviously, we were really keen to win this series, and to wrap it up after two games is really pleasing for our side," Marsh said.
"It's obviously nice to win, but there's still one more game to go for us."
Australia are expected to rotate their squad after sealing the series. Wicketkeeper-batter Josh Philippe and left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann are yet to feature on the tour and could be given opportunities in the final match.
The two sides have met 13 times in T20 internationals, with Australia winning nine matches and Bangladesh four. All four Bangladesh victories came during their memorable 4-1 home series win over Australia in 2021.
Squad
Bangladesh: Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Saif Hassan, Shamim Patwari, Towhid Hridoy (Captain), Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Rishad Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Abdul Gaffar Saqlain and Soumya Sarkar.
Australia: Mitchell Marsh(captain), Xavier Bartlett, Nikhil Chaudhary, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Joel Davies, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matthew Kuhnemann, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Matthew Renshaw and Adam Zampa. "BSS
