NewsRenshaw: ‘Nice to realise that I’m good enough at T20Is’
Australia have left Chattogram with the T20I trophy already secured, beating Bangladesh by 27 runs on Friday night to move 2-0 up with one to play. Matt Renshaw’s unbeaten 89 from 55 balls and a pair of pressure catches from stand-in skipper Mitchell Marsh headlined a performance that, in Renshaw’s words, “sort of gets a little bit of the rub of the green” after a difficult month on tour.
“It felt like every game we were just a little bit shy,” Renshaw admitted when asked about the 2-1 defeat in the one-dayers earlier in the week. “These last two games, obviously chasing down in the first game and setting a really nice target today, it’s nice to… wrap up the series after two games.”
Key moments
• Australia posted 196 for 5 after slipping to 27 for 3 in the powerplay.
• Renshaw and Tim David (45 off 26) added 97 in 8.4 overs, attacking the shorter leg-side boundary when the breeze allowed.
• Bangladesh threatened through Parvez Hossain Emon and Saif Hassan until both holed out to Marsh in the deep four balls apart. The hosts closed on 169 for 8.
Balanced approach with the bat
Renshaw’s innings mixed busy singles with calculated blows, most notably when he took 18 off leg-spinner Rishad Hossain’s tenth over. “The way that I started was one of the best starts that I’ve had in my [T20] career,” he said, crediting a mental reset after “a run of low scores” on a tour that has bounced between Lahore, Karachi and now coastal Bangladesh.
David’s role was straightforward. “I wouldn’t say there was a plan, it was just the way obviously Timmy plays,” Renshaw laughed. “There was a short boundary, the wind was going that way. He felt the match-up… even if we did have a few dots, it wasn’t the end of the world.”
Bowling effort holds firm
While no Australian went wicket-less, it was Marsh’s two catches at long-on – both skiers swirling under the lights – that shifted the chase. For context, the white Kookaburra can disappear against the grey Chattogram sky; Marsh judged both perfectly and his roars were audible above a near-full Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury crowd.
Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto praised his young openers yet accepted the turning point. “Those chances hurt,” he said. “We stayed positive but 197 was always a stiff ask.”
A tour back on track
Australia’s support staff had been frank about learning to win on slower Asian pitches. Renshaw, who has also sent down handy off-spin in both formats, summed up the mood: “I think there’s always those doubts around whether you’re good enough, especially when you’re in and out of formats and in and out of teams. So it was nice to realise that I’m good enough at this format.”
What next?
The dead rubber on Sunday offers Bangladesh a shot at pride and Australia a chance to rotate – leggie Tanveer Sangha could debut, and seamers Nathan Ellis or Spencer Johnson may be freshened up. Either way, the series has already given Australia something tangible to pack for the flight home.
Renshaw, player of the match and now leading run-scorer in the series, left the press conference with a grin. “It’s been a tough tour wins-wise,” he reminded reporters. “So it is nice to get a couple of wins and wrap up the series after two games.”
An imperfect victory, perhaps, but a timely one.
