After waiting 23 years to play a Test on Australian soil, Bangladesh have pulled off the biggest ever victory in their Test history, claiming a nine-wicket win over Australia in the first Test at the Marrara Stadium in Darwin on Sunday with a day-and-a-half to spare.
Bangladesh dominated Australia from the first session of the match to the second session on the fourth day, when they completed a 57-run target off just 14.2 overs, without breaking a sweat.
Opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim departed for a duck to Josh Hazlewood, but that couldn’t shake Bangladesh’s confidence one bit as Shadman Islam (25) and Mominul Haque (30) formed an unbroken stand to take the score to 57-1 and complete an incredible win.
Bangladesh started the day on top, still leading Australia by 67 runs and at one point were three wickets away from becoming the first Asian country to hand Australia an innings defeat at home.
Cameron Green’s century and some resistance from the tail-enders denied Bangladesh that record, but couldn’t change the ultimate outcome as Bangladesh, ultimately, finished on top.
The victory was built on disciplined bowling and resilient batting, with many putting their hands up at the time of need.
After being sent to bowl, a decision Australia captain Pat Cummins would end up regretting in hindsight, Hasan Mahmud first stole the show with a six-wicket haul as the pacers bundled out the Aussies for just 198.
Tanzid then scored his maiden Test ton, while Nazmul Hossain Shanto scored an important half-century and Mehidy Hasan Miraz scored a fifty while batting with the tail as Bangladesh’s first innings ended on 426.
Trailing by 228 runs, Australian batters tried their best to hang on, but Bangladesh bowlers kept asking questions and continued to take wickets in regular succession, eventually getting rolled over for 284.
Miraz claimed a brilliant fifer while Hasan once again stepped up with three scalps.
With the win, Bangladesh now lead the two-Test series 1-0.
The second Test will take place in Cairns from August 22, where anything but a defeat would earn Bangladesh a series win.
But Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Co won’t be thinking about all that at the moment, as they will be busy savouring a win that most thought was impossible.