With ramps ripping through his body in the heat of Dhaka and wickets falling left right and centre on the other end, 22-year-old Cooper Connolly found himself at the crease to play an innings that made careers – and legends.
Connolly, with his absence of cramps ‘pushing’ him to put up the innings of a lifetime at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium by hitting 149 from 133 deliveries, assisted Australia tread close to avoiding a short Test series whitewash against Bangladesh, running past the hosts total of 274/5 with three balls remaining. It was a jaw-dropping debut performance that gave Australian cricket a taste of something really special. Yahoo!
A Star is Born
Despite struggling with cramping and the intense heat in Dhaka that day, the 22-year-old left-hander scored 149 from 134 balls, reaching his hundred with a straight drive off just 87 deliveries. It was his maiden hundred in Australia colours but also his first ton at international, List A or first-class level. Inside Sport India
The numbers rarely tell the entire truth, but in this case they are close enough. His 149 off 131 balls – which is believed to be one of the highest individual ODI scores by an Australian – included 13 fours and six sixes. It was a blend of aggression and calm that is often in short supply in a subcontinental run chase. The Australia Today
Chaos at Both Ends
It was a tough target Bangladesh gave them. The hosts scored an impressive 274, with Tawhid Hridoy, Litton Das and Mosaddek Hossain assisting the home team to the task of setting a competitive total. Connolly made the chase seem manageable for much of it. With Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green and Ollie Peake all contributing but falling short of a sizeable stay at the crease, none managed to be there long enough to see it through for their skipper. The Australia Today
Then came the carnage. Having previously been well placed at 5-266, the Aussies lost 4-5 – Connolly being the last wicket to fall – crashing to 9-271 before Adam Zampa hit the winning runs, driving Taskin Ahmed through the covers for four. Yahoo!
Shoriful Islam was the chief destroyer. Shoriful Islam led the ball by bagging 6-48 almost helped the hosts seal a famous victory. That late charge of his had set off alarm bells in the Australian camp and what seemed like a sedate chase turned out into a cliffhanger going to last over.
Into the History Books
Thus, Cooper Connolly (who was dismissed for 149) became only the fifth cricketer in men’s ODI history to be out for 149 along with icons like Sir Vivian Richards, Adam Gilchrist, AB de Villiers and Steven Smith. Elite company for a lad who has only just scraped the surface of his international career. Inside Sport India
Australian stand-in captain Josh Inglis described Connolly’s first international hundred as: “one of the great knocks”
The Bigger Picture
Australia might have lost the series 2-1, but they head back from Bangladesh with something even more significant than that evidence of a match-winner. In the midst of a heat, pressure and a late collapse all around him on a night that was tough in Dhaka, Connolly played the innings which avoided a whitewash and showed Australia what potentially lies ahead for its white-ball future.
The series win is a great part of history for Bangladesh. In his mind, though, this night was Cooper Connolly’s to seize in Dhaka.
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