Bangladesh created history in Darwin on Sunday, beating Australia by nine wickets in the first Test to register their first-ever Test victory on Australian soilThe result was already a landmark moment for Bangladesh, but the manner of the win also helped them break a major record held by Pakistan.
Bangladesh needed only three Test matches in Australia to finally win oneTheir first two attempts came in 2003, when Australia won both gamesPakistan, in comparison, had to play seven Tests in Australia before recording their first victory there, while India needed 12 matches to achieve the same featBangladesh have now become the fastest Asian team to win a Test in Australia.
The win also gave Bangladesh their second Test victory over AustraliaTheir first came in Dhaka in 2017, when they defeated the Australians by 20 runsThe Darwin victory is therefore only their second overall win against Australia in the longest format, but it is arguably the biggest result in the team’s history.
Bangladesh’s performance was impressive from the opening dayAustralia won the toss and chose to bat, but Hasan Mahmud tore through their batting line-up with 6/55 as the hosts were dismissed for only 198It was Bangladesh’s best Test bowling performance against Australia in terms of an individual innings.
Bangladesh then took the game away from Australia with the batTanzid Hasan scored 101, becoming the first Bangladesh batter to make a Test century in Australia, while Najmul Hossain Shanto made 84 and Mehidy Hasan Miraz contributed 65Bangladesh eventually reached 426, taking a massive 228-run lead.
Australia did have some individual highlightsJosh Hazlewood returned to Test cricket and took 6/89, reaching 300 Test wickets in the processSteve Smith also equalled Joe Root’s record of 218 Test catches by a non-wicketkeeperCameron Green later scored 104 in Australia’s second innings, but the rest of the batting order could not give him enough support.
How Bangladesh won the Test
Australia resumed their second innings at 161/4 on the fourth morning, still 67 runs behindAlex Carey and Cameron Green tried to rebuild, but Mehidy Hasan Miraz soon changed the gameHe removed Carey for 30 before bowling Beau Webster for five, leaving Australia 193/6.
Green fought on and completed his third Test century, but Bangladesh’s bowlers kept taking wicketsMehidy finished with five wickets in the innings, while Hasan Mahmud ended the match with nine wickets overallAustralia were bowled out for 284, leaving Bangladesh with only 57 runs to win.
The chase was straightforwardBangladesh lost one wicket but reached 57/1 in just 14.2 overs, with Mominul Haque hitting the winning boundaryThe nine-wicket victory put Bangladesh 1-0 ahead in the two-Test series and completed one of the biggest wins in their Test history.
