One of our worst': Woeful Aussies stunned in embarrassing loss to set up series decider

Despondent Aussies vow to bounce back after series-levelling defeat

Australia humbled as Bangladesh batters expose frailties

Australia's hopes of wrapping up a series victory in Dhaka suffered a major setback on Wednesday, as Bangladesh pulled off a stunning five-wicket win in the second one-day international to level the three-match contest at 1-1.

Chasing a modest target of 158, Bangladesh rode on fifties from Liton Das and Shakib Al Hasan to overhaul the total with 37 balls to spare, to the astonishment of a stunned Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium crowd.

The Aussies were left shell-shocked after their bowlers failed to defend a below-par total, with Shakib's unbeaten 51 and Das's 50 setting the platform for a famous win.

In-form opener David Warner's absence with a groin injury was keenly felt, as Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, and Alex Carey all failed to fire at the top of the order.

Captain Pat Cummins admitted that Australia were well below their best and made errors in all three departments of the game.

Bangladesh made a cautious start to their chase, losing opener Tamim Iqbal cheaply, but Das and Shakib steadied the ship with a 70-run stand for the second wicket.

The visitors' hopes of restricting Bangladesh were dented when Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah added 42 runs for the fourth wicket, effectively taking the game away from Australia.

Australia's bowlers toiled hard on a slow pitch but lacked penetration, with none of the six bowlers used able to claim more than one wicket.

Cummins lamented his team's performance, calling it "one of our worst" in recent times.

The Australian skipper said that while there were no excuses for the defeat, the absence of Warner and Mitchell Starc had a negative impact.

"Obviously, we're missing a couple of key players, but that's no excuse," Cummins said. "We need to be better than that. We just weren't good enough with bat, ball, or in the field."

Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal hailed his team's performance, saying that they had played with great character and determination.

"This is a big win for us," Iqbal said. "We showed a lot of character and determination today. We knew that we could win if we played to our potential, and we did that today."

The two teams will meet again on Saturday in the series decider at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.