Bangladesh, led by Najmul Hossain Shanto, achieved a watershed moment in the history of the sport in the country after beating Australia in the opening Test of the two-match series at the Marrara Cricket Ground in Darwin on Sunday. The visitors did not put a foot wrong in the entire Test that lasted four days, and Pat Cummins' Australia were given a rude awakening on their home turf. Cameron Green tried his best to delay the inevitable on the fourth day of the contest, but eventually, the visitors got the job done.
Former Australia women's team captain Alyssa Healy summed it up best, saying the result comes as a “wake-up” call for the hosts, who seemed set to make their way to the World Test Championship (WTC) for the third time in a row. Before the series against Bangladesh started, no one gave the visitors a chance, and it wasn't surprising considering Bangladesh were bowled out for 54 in the warm-up match.
However, Bangladesh proved that sport is never played on paper and as per everyone's expectations. This victory in Darwin is Bangladesh's first Test win over Australia in Australia and only their second in the format against this opponent. Bangladesh's previous Test win against Bangladesh came in 2017 in Mirpur, on the back of a ten-wicket haul by Shakib Al Hasan.
This nine-wicket victory in Darwin was Bangladesh's second Test win in SENA, with their previous one coming four years earlier in 2022 when the Bangla Tigers defeated New Zealand in Mount Maunganui. Bangladesh are the only second Asian team after India to beat Australia in Australia in the last decade. Sri Lanka has never won a Test Down Under, while Pakistan's last win in the country came way back in 1995. With this win over Australia, Bangladesh also took a 1-0 lead in the two-match series, and the next Test will begin on Saturday, August 22.
Speaking of Australia, the hosts entered the contest cold with no red-ball practice behind them, and it clearly showed in how they went about their business. The likes of Marnus Labuschagne, Jake Weatherald and Beau Webster looked inept to deal with the moving ball, while skipper Cummins looked rusty with the ball. The defeat is likely to pile the pressure on the hosts, who are already under fire for their batting woes in the last couple of years.
What happened in the match?
Ever since losing the toss, Bangladesh did not make a misstep. Hasan Mahmud was the bright spot with the ball in the first innings as his six-wicket haul broke the back of Australia, and the hosts only managed 198 runs in the first innings. The score would have been more dismal had Steve Smith not stood up and scored 71. However, the biggest challenge would always be Bangladesh's batting.
However, to everyone's surprise, Tanzid Hasan Tamim (101), Mominul Haque (49), skipper Shanto (84) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (65) all stepped up as Bangladesh went on to take a 228-run lead, posting 426 runs on the board. Australia's woes were on display as the fielders kept dropping catch after catch. However, Josh Hazlewood stepped up with the ball, taking six wickets.
Australia displayed a better batting performance in the second innings, but the batters once again failed to fulfil their potential. Only Green showed some fight with the bat, as he scored 104 runs to help Australia take a 56-run lead and force Bangladesh to come out again and bat. Mehidy was the pick of the Bangladesh bowlers in the second innings, scalping a fifer. Mahmud finished with nine wickets in the game as he backed his six-for with a three-wicket haul.
In the chase, Bangladesh lost Tamim for a duck, but Shadman Islam (25*) and Haque (30*) ensured that the visitors didn't suffer from any more hiccups to register a comprehensive nine-wicket win in the second session on Day 4.