Last chance for the batters to step up

It's been a battle between Bangladesh bowlers and Australia bowlers in the ongoing T20I series. There were occasional good knocks from batters but it was the ball that dominated the bat throughout the series. Mustafizur Rahman has been exemplary, picking up seven wickets but most importantly his economy rate is 3.56. Josh Hazlewood has been lethal with both old and new ball. Nathan Ellis bagged a hat-trick on debut. Mitchell Swepson spun a web around the batters in the fourth match. Bangladeshi spinners made life difficult for the Aussies. 

The combined run rate of 5.86 is the lowest ever in a T20I series. It suggests how difficult batting has been. Bangladesh found at least one batter or two in the first three games who held one end to keep the scoreboard ticking over. But that wasn't the case in the fourth match and the home side couldn't get enough runs on the board. 

They still pushed Australia hard but in the end 104 wasn't enough. Daniel Christian, coming in at number three, played a superb cameo of 39 off 15 balls and showed that scoring quickly is possible in these pitches too. Australia will take a lot of inspiration from the victory and will be keen to finish the series on a high.

Soumya Sarkar's dismal run is a worrying sign for Bangladesh. The left-handed batter couldn't reach double figures in any of the four innings and with Liton Das coming back in the next series, he might find himself left out of the squad if he doesn't do something extraordinary in the next match. 

Both the teams have been very cautious in the powerplay. Since batting becomes more difficult later on with bowlers using a lot of cutters, slowers and knuckleballs, the teams might consider sending a pinch hitter to maximise the powerplay, just like Australia did with Christian in the fourth match. Bangladesh tried Mahedi Hasan at number four in one of the games but the move didn't work. 

"These are as difficult conditions as I've seen for T20 cricket - 120 is like 190, it's an extremely difficult place to try and bat.  It's holding in the surface, gripping and turning and it's a big ground as well. It's certainly been different cricket but in terms of getting into rhythm or any kind of flow it's been pretty hard," said Christian.

Bangladesh have not made any change to the XI in the series and with the series already in the bag, they have the luxury to rest some of the players and test their bench strength. On the other hand, this should be Australia's last T20I before they pick a squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. So they might try a different combination in the fifth match, giving opportunities to some of the players who have been warming the bench.

Australia made a strategic change in the fourth match and had Ashton Turner, the part-time off-spinner, bowl his full quota of four overs. Bangladesh batters struggled to get going against spin and it might just tempt Australia to go with three frontline spinners in the fifth game. "I might be a little bit biased here, but certainly something that I think could work for us as well. Fingers crossed that might eventuate but we'll have to wait and see," said Swepson, who claimed a three-for in the previous match. 

There is hardly any weak link in the Bangladesh bowling line-up. So Mahmudullah will want the batters to be more sensible in their approach and shot-making. 

The two sides will face each other in the fifth and final T20I of the series on Monday in Mirpur.