Cooper Connolly played the knock of his ODI career as Australia avoided a series whitewash with a dramatic one-wicket victory against Bangladesh in the third and final ODI in Dhaka on Sunday.The left-hander scored a brilliant 149, his maiden ODI century, and held Australia’s chase together despite a brilliant fightback from Bangladesh, aided by a six-wicket haul from Sharif Islam. Chasing 275, Australia eventually crossed the line at 277/9 with three balls to spare.After electing to bat, Bangladesh overcame a shaky start to post 274/5. Toheed Hardoy top-scored with 83, while Litan Das made an unbeaten 58 and Mussad Hussain added a blistering 56 not out as the hosts recovered impressively from early setbacks.Australia’s chase started positively, with Josh Ingles attacking from the start. The wicketkeeper-batsman scored 21 off just 12 balls as the visitors scored 40 for no loss in five overs.Bangladesh responded through Sharaful Islam, who turned the game around with two wickets in a single over. Inglis fell into the leg-side trap before being bowled by Matt Renshaw, putting Australia under sudden pressure. Tasin Ahmed then removed Alex Carey with a brilliant catch. Soumya Sarkar At cover, reducing the tourists to 71/3.Amidst the collapse, Connolly remained contained. He absorbed the pressure, rotated the strike effectively and punished them whenever scoring opportunities arose.Along with Marnus Leboschgen, Connolly rebuilt the innings with a crucial 64-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Lebuschgan scored 29 runs before replacing Sharaful Islam to wicketkeeper Noorul Hasan.Connolly continued to dominate the chase and received further support from Cameron Green. The pair added 58 runs before Green was dismissed for 27 by Mehdi Hasan.Despite struggling in the humid Dhaka conditions, Connolly smashed his maiden ODI century off just 87 balls and looked set to comfortably guide Australia to victory.However, Bangladesh faced one last challenge.Sharifel completed his first five-wicket haul in ODI cricket by dismissing Oliver Peck. Xavier Bartlett In continuous delivery. The left-arm pacer later removed Ben Dwarshuis as well, eventually finishing with impressive figures of 6/48.When the tension escalated. Mustafizur Rehman Bowled Connolly in the last over. His dismissal for a magnificent 149 sparked panic as Australia slumped from 266/5 to 271/9, the result suddenly in doubt.With two runs needed from the last over, Australia relied on their last conceded batsman. Adam Zampa Driving Tasin Ahmed through cover sealed a thrilling victory and prevented Bangladesh from completing a clean sweep.Earlier, Bangladesh’s innings got off to a rough start when Xavier Bartlett dismissed Parvez Hussain Amon cheaply.Tanzid Hasan Tamim briefly hit back with 20 off 19 balls, including a six and two fours, but Bangladesh’s second wicket fell on 53 when Matt Renshaw forced a miscue at mid-on at the end of the powerplay.Soon after, Renshaw struck again, with captain Najamul Hussain Shantu scoring 24 and Bangladesh reeling at 62/3 in the 15th over.After this, Litan Das and Toheed Hardoy steadied the innings with a composed partnership. Australia’s spinners, led by Adam Zampa and Renshaw, kept the scoring in check but the duo continued to rotate the strike and gradually rebuilt.Lytton picked up the pace during the middle overs despite struggling with a calf problem, while Hardoy became increasingly fluid as the innings progressed. The right-hander completed his half-century and helped Bangladesh to 190 in the 39th over.The hosts accelerated significantly in the closing stages. Hardoy and Mossadeq added 90 runs together, shifting the momentum firmly in Bangladesh’s favour.Hardoy’s brilliant innings ended at 83 off 88 balls when he was caught at deep mid-wicket in the 46th over. His innings included eight fours.Mossadque completed a blistering fifty off just 43 balls, while Litton, who had been briefly retired due to pain, returned to the crease and brought up his own half-century off 75 balls.Although Australia grabbed some late wickets through Bartlett and Ben Darshuis, Bangladesh’s middle order ensured they finished with a challenging total of 274/5.Ultimately, however, Connolly’s career-best innings proved decisive as Australia escaped with a dramatic victory in the series finale.Brief score: Bangladesh 274/5 in 50 overs (Tawheed Hardoy 83, Liton Das 58*, Mossadegh Hussain 56*; Matt Renshaw 2/44) lost to Australia 277/9 in 49.3 overs (Cooper Connolly 149, Marnos 4/8, Marnos 4/9)
