Australia have won the toss and elected to bat first in the second T20I against Bangladesh in Chattogram on Friday, with the hosts forced into two changes and facing the added blow of being without regular captain Litton Das for the remainder of the series.
Bangladesh, who lost the opening match by four wickets after being bowled out for 131, must win today to stay alive in the three-match series. Shoriful Islam and Shekh Mahedi Hasan have been dropped, with Nahid Rana and Nasum Ahmed coming into the XI. Australia have also made one change, with Aaron Hardie replacing Xavier Bartlett.
Litton, who missed the first T20I with a muscle injury sustained in the final ODI, has now been ruled out of the entire T20I series and will require rest to recover fully. Towhid Hridoy continues to lead the side in his absence.
Bangladesh’s batting was the primary concern after the first match, where an overly aggressive approach backfired badly. Batsmen threw their wickets away through loose strokeplay rather than building on promising positions, and the bowlers were left with too little to defend. Rain in Chattogram on Friday morning has added further uncertainty ahead of the match.
Australia, fresh from winning the ODI series, have carried their momentum into the T20I leg with authority. Mitchell Marsh’s side chased down Bangladesh’s modest first-match total with four wickets to spare and will be looking to seal the series with a game to spare.
Bangladesh XI: Saif Hassan, Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Parvez Hossain Emon (wk), Towhid Hridoy (capt), Shamim Hossain, Abdul Gaffar Saqlain, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Nahid Rana
Australia XI: Mitchell Marsh (capt), Josh Inglis (wk), Cooper Connolly, Matt Renshaw, Tim David, Nikhil Chaudhary, Joel Davies, Aaron Hardie, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson
