Aussie debutant Nathan Ellis hat-trick restricted the Tigers to only 127 in the third twenty20 international of their five-match series against Australia at Mirpur on Friday.
Mahmudullah struck 52 off 53 deliveries as he could never find his timing on the day. He had little help as only Shakib Al Hasan could go past 20 among the other batsmen.
Ellis took the spotlight as he became the first bowler to pick up a hat-trick on T20I debut but Josh Hazlewood was Australia’s best bowler on the day as two wickets for only 16 runs.
Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah won the toss for the first time in the series and opted to bat first. Tigers fielded an unchanged side, whereas Australia brought in three changes. Ben McDermott, Dan Christian and Ellis came into the XI instead of Josh Philippe, Mitchell Starc and Andrew Tye.
Bangladesh continued on their streak of poor opening stands as Naim Sheikh was sent back by Josh Hazlewood in the second over for one. Soumya Sarkar followed next over as he was trapped leg-before by Adam Zampa.
Mahmudullah then put together a 44-run stand with Shakib Al Hasan as they focused on upping the ante. Shakib looked in fine touch before getting out on 26 as he tried to hit Zampa out of the ground but only found Ashton Agar at the long-on boundary.
Second T20’s hero Afif Hossain also looked solid in the middle, but he had to go back for only 19 off 13 deliveries as Alex Carey ran him out with a brilliant direct hit.
Shamim Hossain, promoted to number six, could not take advantage of his opportunity as Hazlewood took little time to send the youngster back for only three.
Nurul Hasan Sohan also fell prey to a direct hit as miscommunication with Mahmudullah left him stranded in the middle and Moises Henriques made no mistake in hitting the stumps.
Mahmudullah, who held onto one end, struggled with timing throughout his innings but picked up his fifth T20I fifty off 52 deliveries in the final over. He was dismissed immediately after by the debutant Ellis, who went on to pick up Mustafizur Rahman and Mahedi Hasan in the final two deliveries to complete his hat-trick.
The 26-year-old seamer is the first bowler to pick up a hat-trick on T20I debut and ensured that Bangladesh were restricted to 127.
