MIRPUR, Bangladesh — The second ODI cricket clash between Bangladesh and Australia delivered a key pre-match twist on Thursday, as Australia turned to a familiar pace talent for his first international limited-overs appearance in five years, before captain Josh Inglis won the pre-game toss and opted to set a first-innings total for the hosts.
Bangladesh heads into this fixture with a golden opportunity to make history, having secured an dominant 86-run victory in the opening match of the series via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) rain-adjusted method. The win puts Bangladesh one step away from its first ever ODI series win over a full-strength Australian side — though the current Australian touring squad is far from its best, facing pressure to perform without the team’s three top-tier fast bowlers: Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc.
The only adjustment Australia made to its starting XI from the first match was bringing 32-year-old fast bowler Riley Meredith back into the fold, replacing Liam Scott. Meredith has only appeared in one senior ODI for Australia to date, a 2021 fixture against the West Indies, making his return a long-awaited milestone for the paceman.
Bangladesh also made just one single change to its starting lineup, with opening batter Saif Hassan stepping out of the squad to make room for experienced batter Soumya Sarkar.
Full starting lineups for the second ODI are as follows:
Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Tawhid Hridoy, Litton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (captain), Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Nahid Rana, Tanvir Islam
Australia: Matt Short, Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis (captain), Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Matthew Renshaw, Xavier Bartlett, Riley Meredith, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa
This report is part of AP News’ ongoing cricket coverage, with more updates available via the organization’s official cricket hub.