Australia have survived a stunning late batting collapse as Cooper Connolly’s maiden international century steered his side to a nail-biting one-wicket consolation win in the third ODI against Bangladesh.
Australia appeared to be cruising with young guns Connolly (149 off 134 balls) and Oliver Peake (27) closing in on their 275-run target in Dhaka on Sunday night.
But with nine to get from 29 balls, Peake picked out cover trying to finish the job quickly, sparking a flurry of wickets that pushed the match into the final over with their last batting pair at the crease.
Shoriful Islam (6-48) then nicked off Xavier Bartlett very next ball and had Ben Dwarshuis caught in his next over, finishing with a career-best six-wicket haul after being recalled in place of Nahid Rana.
Connolly, who just moments earlier appeared to have put the game beyond doubt with a hat-trick of sixes off Taskin Ahmed to close out the 45th over, then chopped on to Mustafizur Rahman (1-56) in the penultimate over, leaving last wicket pair of Adam Zampa (4no) and Riley Meredith (2no) with the job of finding the final four runs to for Australia to avoid being swept by Bangladesh for the first time.
The tourists’ nerves would have only intensified when Meredith was comprehensively beaten outside off first ball, which Bangladesh sent upstairs for a speculative unsuccessful review that only heightened the tension.
After two defensive prods, the Australian No.11 squirted a single through point off a leading edge to bring the equation down to three required from the final six balls.
Meredith then hit a well-timed single to deep point off the first ball of the last over before Zampa sealed victory with a four through cover with three balls remaining.
With the series out of reach after going down in the first two games of the three-match series, Australia were in desperate need of a match-winner when they slipped to 4-134 in reply to Bangladesh’s challenging 5-274.
Opener Connolly, already well set on 71 when Marnus Labuschagne departed to a super catch behind the wicket to leave the visitors four down, stepped up with brilliant century in a performance that had been lacking from Australia’s batting unit over their previous three ODIs as they lost consecutive series to Pakistan and then Bangladesh.
Fresh off a breakout maiden Indian Premier League season that yielded his first hundred at professional level in a 491-run campaign averaging 44.63 for Punjab Kings, the West Australian rising star made his maiden century in national colours a big one.
His previous best for his country was an unbeaten 61, also in a winning run chase against India in Adelaide last October.
So dominant was Connolly’s performance that the next highest score for Australia was Labuschagne’s 29, the left-hander hitting 13 boundaries and clearing the rope six times in the innings of his life.
Josh Inglis (21) got the chase off to a flier at Mirpur, before he and Matt Renshaw (0) – bowled around his legs – fell in Shoriful’s first over.
It was then 3-70 when Alex Carey (8) fell to a spectacular catch from Soumya Sarkar.
Labuschagne, Cameron Green (27) and Peake all provided valuable support for Connolly in consecutive partnerships of 64, 68 and 64.
Earlier, Bangladesh appeared to be in control thanks to half-centuries from Tawhid Hridoy (83), Litton Das (58no) and Mosaddek Hossain (56no) after opting to bat first at Shere Bangla National Stadium.
Bartlett gave Australia the perfect start when again struck in his first over of the match as left-hander Soumya (2) inside edged a seaming delivery onto his stumps.
His opening partner, Tanzid Hasan, consolidated alongside stand-in Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto – deputising for a concussed Mehidy Hassan Miraz – with a 51-run second-wicket partnership before Renshaw dismissed both with his off-spin to leave the Tigers struggling at 3-61.
Tawhid was involved in two big partnerships of 92 with Das and 93 with Mosaddek, which threatened to take the game out of the tourists’ reach had it not been for Connolly’s heroics.
Bangladesh’s 2-1 series win was their fourth straight in ODIs and their first ever against Australia.
The two teams will play a three-game T20I series commencing in Chattogram on Wednesday.
Qantas Tour of Bangladesh 2026
Australia ODI squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Renshaw, Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Adam Zampa
June 9: First ODI: Bangladesh won by 86 runs (DLS Method)
June 11: Second ODI: Bangladesh won by five wickets (DLS Method)
June 14: Third ODI: Australia won by one wicket
Australia T20I squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), 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, Adam Zampa
June 17: First T20I, Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium, Chattogram, 6pm AEST
June 19: Second T20I, Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium, Chattogram, 6pm AEST
June 21: Third T20I, Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium, Chattogram, 6pm AEST
All matches exclusive on Kayo Sports and Fox Cricket
