Australia lose 3 wickets without scoring a run

Australia lost three wickets without adding a single run to the scoreboard! Looking at the scorecard, you might think you are seeing it wrong—but you are not. Incredible as it may sound, it is reality.

After Taskin Ahmed struck in the very first over, Mustafizur Rahman delivered a double blow in the second over. As a result, the five-time champions Australia were written into an embarrassing record.

In ODI cricket history, Australia became only the fourth team to lose their first three wickets without scoring any runs. 

Before this, it had happened only three times. The most recent instance was also involving Bangladesh—during the 2003 World Cup against Sri Lanka, fast bowler Chaminda Vaas dismissed the first three Bangladeshi batters in successive deliveries, completing a historic hat-trick in the very first over.

After winning the first ODI, Bangladesh entered today’s match aiming to seal the series. However, as usual, Bangladesh captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz lost the toss again. But the frustration did not last long.

Australia, sent in to bat first, got off to a nightmare start. In the first over, Taskin Ahmed dismissed Matthew Short. In the previous match, Short had been bowled by Taskin on the very first ball; today, he was dismissed on the fourth ball of the first over. Same bowler, same batter, same mode of dismissal.

In the next over, Mustafizur Rahman took two wickets in two balls. On the very first ball, Connolly was dismissed. This marked only the third time in Australia’s ODI history that both openers were out for ducks. Shortly after, Matt Renshaw was caught behind by Litton Das. The umpire initially did not give it out, but Bangladesh successfully reviewed the decision.

Bangladesh XI:

Mehidy Hasan Miraz (captain), Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain, Litton Das, Towhid Hridoy, Mosaddek Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Nahid Rana, Tanvir Islam.

Australia XI:

Josh Inglis (captain), Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Renshaw, Liam Scott, Matt Short, Adam Zampa.