Mosaddek Hossain came back into Bangladesh’s ODI team and made the sort of return that changes a match. After nearly four years away from the format, he struck an unbeaten 86 off 70 balls in Mirpur on Tuesday to lift Bangladesh to 284 for eight against Australia in the first ODI.
The innings was his highest in one-day cricket and it came with seven fours and three sixes, a crisp answer from a batter who had last played an ODI in Bangladesh’s home series against Zimbabwe in August 2022. He had been out of the format for nearly four years and his most recent international outing before this match was at the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia later that year.
Bangladesh needed that control after the innings had slipped into trouble. Saif Hassan was out for five in the second over, and Tanzid Hasan Tamim’s 54 off 44 balls had taken the side to 106 for two in 16.3 overs before the pressure returned. Litton Das made only 7 off 9 balls, giving a return catch to Matt Renshaw, and Najmul Hossain Shanto followed for 67 off 86 when he was caught by Cooper Connolly off the same bowler. At 167 for four in 30 overs, Bangladesh had lost the rhythm they had built earlier.
Mosaddek arrived at 140 for four after 25.3 overs and settled the innings from there. Nathan Ellis, Australia’s most effective bowler, finished with three for 38 and had already removed Saif and Tanzid, but Mosaddek’s calm late surge kept Bangladesh moving toward a total that looked far less secure when the top order lost two wickets in quick succession. That left Australia with 285 to chase in Mirpur, and the way the middle overs were rescued will be the reference point if Bangladesh’s total proves enough.
For Mosaddek, the score was more than a useful hand in the middle order. It was a return to ODI cricket that immediately mattered, and a reminder that a long absence does not always dull a player’s timing. The bigger question now is whether his unbeaten 86 becomes the innings that set up a rare home win, or simply the one that gave Bangladesh a platform they still have to defend.
