Bangladesh Opts to Bat First in Final ODI Against Australia, Eyes Series Sweep

MIRPUR, Bangladesh (AP) — In a bid to complete a clean sweep of the ODI series against Australia, Bangladesh's stand-in captain Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and chose to bat first in the third and final one-day international on Sunday. Regular captain Mehidy Hasan was unable to participate after suffering a head injury from a bouncer delivered by Nathan Ellis during the previous match.

Shanto confirmed at the toss that while Mehidy is under medical observation, he is in stable condition. The team made one additional change, opting to rest fast bowler Nahid Rana and bringing in offspinner Mahedi Hasan instead.

Bangladesh has already secured victories in the first two matches of the series, winning by 86 runs in the opener and then by five wickets in the second game, both determined by the DLS method. This series marks Bangladesh's first-ever triumph in an ODI series against Australia.

In an effort to salvage a win, Australia made two alterations to their lineup, introducing pacer Ben Dwarshuis and allrounder Oliver Peake in place of opener Matthew Short and Nathan Ellis.

Here are the lineups for the match: Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Litton Das, Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Tanvir Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam. Australia: Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis (captain), Matt Renshaw, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Oliver Peake, Xavier Bartlett, Ben Dwarshuis, Adam Zampa, Riley Meredith.