Getting bowled out for 54 helped Bangladesh script Darwin triumph, says Bashar

Bangladesh chief selector Habibul Bashar has credited his side's shock capitulation for 54 in a practice match against a Cricket Australia XI with sparking the turnaround that fuelled their Darwin Test win over Australia.

“It will sound strange but getting bowled out for 54 actually helped us,” Bashar told Cricinfo, saying the humiliation forced a visible shift in the squad's mindset well before the Test itself began.

Before travelling to Australia, Bangladesh had suffered an embarrassing innings defeat to Zimbabwe in Harare in a one-off Test.

The defeat in the tour match following the Zimbabwe loss prompted the team’s coaching staff to order extra training sessions that the players fully committed to in the days that followed, said Bashar.

"I could see everyone's body language changed after they were bowled out for 54. After the coach instructed the team to put in extra effort at training, everyone really bought into that. They worked very, very hard in the following days.”

According to Bashar, the real breakthrough was psychological rather than technical, with the team finally shedding the mental scars of that batting collapse.

"We always had the skill, so there was not much change there," he explained, pointing to Tanzid's first-innings batting in Darwin as clear evidence of the shift.

Bashar said the squad drew extra motivation from the scale of the opportunity in front of them in Australia.

"I felt that after that practice match, everyone wanted to prove something to themselves. The whole team's attitude and body language completely changed. We were talking about going to Australia to do something that becomes a career highlight.

“I think, deep inside, everyone wanted to do something special. I think it was their mental strength that made the difference."