Eight days after 54 all out, Bangladesh beat Australia in Darwin
Bangladesh’s first Test win in Australia came after a disastrous warm-up. Hasan Mahmud and a fast-bowling program built for overseas conditions drove the turnaround.
Bangladesh’s Test team in Dhaka after its 2024 series win in Pakistan. On Sunday in Darwin, the team added its first Test victory on Australian soil.
Photo: Bangladesh Press Information Department / Public domain
Mominul Haque cut Beau Webster for four on Sunday afternoon to complete Bangladesh’s first Test victory on Australian soil. The visitors beat the world’s top-ranked side by nine wickets inside four days at Marrara Stadium, only their second Test win over Australia in seven meetings.
The turnaround began eight days after Bangladesh had been bowled out for 54 in its only warm-up match. Campbell Thompson, a 22-year-old left-arm quick with one Sheffield Shield appearance, took 8 for 25 as a Cricket Australia XI won by an innings and 38 runs. Bangladesh then faced Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood in the Test and produced its best performance of the tour.
Hasan Mahmud set it up with 6 for 55 as Australia was dismissed for 198 on the first day. The 26-year-old added three wickets in the second innings and was named player of the match. Taskin Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain took the other four wickets on day one, only the second time Bangladesh’s fast bowlers had taken all 10 wickets in a Test innings. The attack was also missing the injured Nahid Rana and Shoriful Islam.
Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto called it Bangladesh’s biggest win in any format and credited a change in the way the country develops fast bowlers. Domestic pitches have offered them more assistance, and the Dukes ball has been used in first-class cricket to make batters and bowlers work in conditions closer to those found overseas. Mahmud also arrived in Australia after taking 12 wickets in two county matches for Kent.
Bangladesh backed up the bowling with 426 in its first innings. Tanzid Hasan made 101, the first Test century by a Bangladeshi batter in Australia, while Shanto scored 84. Mehidy Hasan Miraz made 65 and helped the last four wickets add 118 runs, extending the lead to 228.
Mehidy then took 5 for 66 in Australia’s second innings. He removed Steve Smith late on Saturday and added four wickets on Sunday as Australia was bowled out for 284. Bangladesh needed 57 to win and reached the target for the loss of one wicket.
The same ground hosted Bangladesh’s previous Test tour of Australia in 2003. Australia won that match by an innings and 132 runs, with Habibul Bashar making 54 for the visitors. Bashar returned this weekend as chairman of Bangladesh’s national selection committee and watched his side take all 20 wickets.
Bangladesh leads the two-Test series 1–0 and sits fourth in the World Test Championship standings. The second Test starts Aug. 22 in Mackay. A series win would add another landmark to an overseas record that already includes victories in New Zealand and Pakistan.