Cooper Connolly struck a rapid-fire 47 off 27 balls to steer Australia to a four-wicket win over Bangladesh in the opening T20 international on Wednesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia chased down 132 with 10 balls to spare, finishing on 133-6 in 18.2 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Connolly anchored the chase after early setbacks, hitting four fours and three sixes before falling three runs short of a maiden half-century.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Bangladesh made early inroads as Shoriful Islam dismissed Josh Inglis for five before Mustafizur Rahman removed Mitchell Marsh for 13, leaving Australia at 38-2 inside five overs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Connolly rebuilt the innings in a 40-run third-wicket stand with Tim David, who made 20 before falling to Mehidy Hasan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Connolly then pushed Australia towards the target before he was caught attempting a six off debutant Abdul Gaffar Saqlain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia stumbled again as Matt Renshaw and debutant Nikhil Chaudhary both fell for 18, with Saqlain and Rishad Hossain striking to keep Bangladesh in the contest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But debutant Joel Davies and Xavier Bartlett saw the visitors home in 18.2 overs, finishing unbeaten on seven and four respectively.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Davies said Australia's bowlers had adapted their plans to the venue's dimensions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Here in Bangladesh, the grounds are a fair bit smaller than in Australia, so if there were any parts of the ground that were slightly bigger, I had to use that to my advantage," he said after the match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Saqlain returned 2-32, while Shoriful, Mustafizur, Mehidy and Rishad took one wicket each.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Earlier, Australia's spinners dominated as Bangladesh were bowled out for 131 after electing to bat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Adam Zampa (3-18) and Davies (3-17) led the attack, with Australia's spinners taking nine wickets, the most by Australian spin bowlers in a T20I innings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Bangladesh lost momentum after a brisk powerplay, finishing with only 131 despite reaching 52 in six overs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Mehidy top-scored with an unbeaten 29, while stand-in captain Towhid Hridoy, captain in place of the injured Litton Das, made eight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Bangladesh pace bowling coach Talha Jubair said the hosts failed to build on a promising powerplay.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Our powerplay was excellent, we scored 52 in six overs, but from there we could not carry on," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We went too far for boundaries when we could have built a partnership. We lost three wickets between overs seven and 15, where we needed to build our innings," he said.<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Cooper-Connolly2.jpg", "alt_img": "Cooper Connolly", "alt_title": "Cooper Connolly Stars as Australia Beat Bangladesh by Four Wickets in T20I Opener", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "Cooper Connolly Stars as Australia Beat Bangladesh by Four Wickets in T20I Opener On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Cooper Connolly's explosive 47 off 27 balls and a dominant spin performance helped Australia secure a four-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the first T20I. Adam Zampa and debutant Joel Davies claimed three wickets each as Australia took a 1-0 series lead.", "seo_keywords": "Australia Vs Bangladesh, Cooper Connolly, Australia Cricket Team, Bangladesh Cricket Team, T20I Series, Adam Zampa", "tag": null, "tagging": "Australia Vs Bangladesh,Cooper Connolly,Australia Cricket Team,Bangladesh Cricket Team,T20I Series,Adam Zampa", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "cooper-connolly-stars-as-australia-beat-bangladesh-by-four-wickets-in-t20i-opener", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "1", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "312", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2026-06-17 19:43:44", "updated": "2026-06-17 19:43:44", "img_from": "Image Source: Google", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "Australia Vs Bangladesh, Cooper Connolly, Australia Cricket Team, Bangladesh Cricket Team, T20I Series, Adam Zampa", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "1", "posted_by": "19", "jio_date": "2026-06-17 19:43:44", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "1", "google_date": null, "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": "Select", "article_content_type": "Latest Cricket News", "england_cricket": "0", "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/cooper-connolly-stars-as-australia-beat-bangladesh-by-four-wickets-in-t20i-opener-198554" }