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| Aussies
cleansweep series after a hard-earned win in 3rd ODI |
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September
06, 2008
Aussies had to struggle quite a bit to win the
3rd and final ODI at the Murray Cricket Ground on what was a
sluggish pitch. The hosts had to defend a target of just 199
which was a golden opportunity for Bangladesh to chase down
and create an upset. But once again the batting showed that it
doesn't have the much needed class to compete. There was one
promising knock though coming from opener Tamim Iqbal, who
made 63 from just 69 balls (with 5 fours and a six) but it was
always going to be in vain.
Australia won a crucial toss which allowed
them to bat first. After a decent start of 41, the homeside
found it too
difficult to get the scoreboard ticking against
the three Bangladeshi spinners. But the experience of playing
hundreds of games had helped Michael Hussey to assess the
situation and to bat sensibly. Michael Hussey stayed right
till the end with an unbeaten 57 that came in 72 balls with 2
fours and a six. Cameron White produced a neat cameo with an
unbeaten 22 from 24 balls as Australia got to 198 for 5.
Earlier there were contributions coming in from openers Shaun
Marsh (30 from 36 with 4 fours), Shane Watson (27 from 44
balls) and Skipper Michael Clarke, who struggled to get 25
runs in 66 balls! Left arm spinners Shakib Al Hasan and Abdur
Razzak gave away just the 47 runs in their combined 20 overs!
With the ball, Stuart Clark came to the
rescue of the Aussies with a couple of early wickets that
exposed the Bangladeshi middle order to the new ball. Once
again the Bangladeshi Skipper Mohammad Ashraful cound't get
amongst the runs to lead from the front. Opener Tamim Iqbal
found an ally in Shakib Al Hasan and looked set to work
towards the target. However, in the 17th over, James Hopes
broke the partnership dismissing Shakib Al Hasan (27 from 29
with 5 fours) to reduce the score to 82 for 4. Hopes went onto
pick two more wickets and Tamim Iqbal was running out of
partners. He fell in the 24th over to make it 103 for 8. Last
man Shahadat Hossain didn't come out to bat because of a split
webbing to leave Bangladesh all out for 125 in just under 30
overs. Young Tamim Iqbal was appreciated through the Man of
the Match award while Mike Hussey was the Player of the
Series.
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