Bangladesh defeats Australia in Darwin, setting a new record

The first test match between Australia and Bangladesh, which began in Darwin on Thursday (August 13), presented an unexpected picture. The strong Australian team faced serious difficulties against the fast bowlers of Bangladesh and was completely dismissed for only 198 runs.

In the match held at the Marara Cricket Ground stadium, Australia returned to Test cricket after approximately six months, but its return proved to be extremely unsuccessful. Bangladesh managed to break the attack of the Australian batsmen even before the appearance of express pacer Nahid Rana. Hasan Mahmud performed brilliantly, taking six wickets, and concluded two sessions for Australia significantly faster than planned.

In this confrontation, Bangladesh set a humiliating record in the history of Test cricket against Australia: for the first time, they dismissed the Australian team with a total score below 200 runs in a single innings. Previously, the lowest score by Australia against Bangladesh was 217 runs, recorded in a match in Mirpur in 2017, where Australia lost by 20 runs. In that match, Shakib Al Hasan not only took five wickets twice but also scored 84 runs. However, in Darwin, Bangladeshi bowlers surpassed him, restricting Australia to a modest 198 runs.

Australia started its innings well. At one point, the team's score without loss reached 45 runs. However, this was followed by a series of wickets falling, which led to the complete collapse of the entire innings. Hasan Mahmud, in his long opening spell, dismissed Jack Wade, delivering the first blow to Australia. In the very next over, he sent Travis Head to the stands. Steve Smith managed to avoid an early dismissal as he was caught while scoring only two runs. Despite this respite, the other Australian batsmen could not withstand the attack of the Bangladeshi bowlers. Marnus Labuschagne continued his poor run and was dismissed for a single-digit score by Ibadat Hossain. Following him, Cameron Green also failed to perform brightly and became a victim of Taskin Ahmed.

Soon, Australia transitioned from 45/0 to 74/4. Steve Smith remained at one end while other batsmen came and went, taking responsibility for stabilizing the innings. Alex Carey showed good strokes early on but could not turn his innings into a big one and was bowled by Hossain. Smith continued to hold his ground at one end, but wickets kept falling at the other end. Hugh Webster was also bowled by Taskin Ahmed. Then Hasan Mahmud completed the task of eliminating the lower order and tailenders of Australia. It was during this process that he took the wicket of Steve Smith, ending Australia's innings. Steve Smith was the most successful batsman for Australia, scoring 71 runs off 109 balls, including seven fours and one six. No other batsman managed to score a half-century.

The main hero of this magnificent game for Bangladesh was Hasan Mahmud. The young fast bowler took six wickets for only 53 runs. Thanks to this performance, Mahmud wrote history: he became the first Bangladeshi bowler to take six wickets in a single innings against Australia, regardless of whether the match was played in Bangladesh or Australia. The statistic of 6/53 in the history of Australia-Bangladesh matches is the third-best bowling figure. Even without Nahid Rana, the Bangladesh press-attack greatly troubled Australia, demonstrating the depth of their bowling attack.

Hasan Mahmud's performance of taking six wickets was special for this pitch in Darwin. He became the fourth fast bowler to take five or more wickets in a single innings at this venue. The best bowling performance at this venue belongs to Michael Kasprowicz, who took seven wickets for 39 runs against Sri Lanka in July 2004. In the same match, Chaminda Vaas from Sri Lanka also took five wickets. Furthermore, Glenn McGrath also achieved a feat by taking five wickets in a single innings in Darwin. Now, Hasan Mahmud's name has been added to this special list.

After Australia's first innings ended for just 198 runs, Bangladesh gained a superior position in the match. The Australian team, returning to Test cricket after six months, looked completely helpless against the Bangladeshi press-attacks, which was the complete opposite of the expected style of play.

Tension arose on the field during the second day of the Test match between Australia and Bangladesh. Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc and Bangladeshi all-rounder Mehdi Hasan Miraz found themselves face to face. A brief argument occurred between them, which required the intervention of the field umpire Kumar Dharmensh.

This incident took place in the 103rd over of Bangladesh's first innings. The conflict began because Miraz stepped into a dangerous area on the field. Mitchell Starc expressed his dissatisfaction and demanded that Mehdi Hasan Miraz immediately leave that spot. The exchange of remarks between the two players was recorded by stump microphones.

In that over, Mitchell Starc bowled the fifth ball, which was outside the stump line, with a back-of-length delivery. Miraz deflected it towards the short third man and scored one run. After taking this run, Miraz crossed the part of the field protected from player and bowler footprints. Seeing this during his follow-through, Starc became angry. He walked right up to Miraz and scolded him, stating: 'That's my follow-through, not yours. Get away from the wicket.'

Miraz responded to Mitchell Starc's remark, leading to a temporary escalation of the situation. Both players continued the dialogue until field umpire Kumar Dharmensh arrived to prevent further deterioration. He separated them, and the conflict was resolved. Play then resumed. Australia was already under pressure, while Bangladesh steadily strengthened its position, and the growing tension on the field reflected the host team's frustration.

Earlier, Bangladeshi bowlers had demonstrated impressive play on the first day. The Australian team finished its first innings on just 198 runs. Fast bowler Hasan Mahmud became a major problem for the Australian team, taking six wickets and undermining the hosts' attack foundation.

On the second day, Bangladesh fully capitalized on its strong start. Tanzid Hasan Tamim scored an impressive 101 runs. Tamim became the first Bangladeshi player to score a Test century on Australian soil. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto also played a crucial innings of 84 runs. Thanks to these performances, Bangladesh gained a significant advantage over Australia.

By the end of the second day, Bangladesh had scored 351 runs, losing six wickets, giving them a lead of 153 runs. Mehdi Hasan Miraz and Hasan Mahmud remained on the field, scoring 32 and 13 runs respectively without being dismissed. Now, on the third day, Bangladesh will aim to increase its advantage, while Australia will try to take the remaining four wickets as soon as possible to get back into the game.

The first match of the Test series between Australia and Bangladesh started on August 13 (Thursday) at Marara ground in Darwin. In the initial phase of this Test, Bangladesh's fast bowlers dominated. Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, and Ibadat Hossain created difficulties for the top order of the Australian team by utilizing favorable conditions.

However, the most attention was drawn to the unusual way Taskin Ahmed celebrated. This incident occurred in the 22nd over of the Australian innings. When Cameron Green attempted to play the last ball of that over on the left side of the field, the ball did not connect properly with the bat. The ball went towards mid-wicket, where the experienced Mushfiqur Rahim made no mistake in catching it.

After Cameron Green was dismissed, Taskin Ahmed began celebrating in a peculiar style. He stuck out his tongue and danced for several seconds. While teammates headed towards Mushfiqur to celebrate the wicket, Taskin's mannerism was captured by the camera. Video of this moment is quickly spreading on social media.

After a strong start, the Australian team began to lose momentum. Australian captain Pat Cummins decided to start batting after the toss. The opening batsmen played well, scoring 45 runs without loss. However, Bangladesh then powerfully regained its position.

Jack Weatherald, who is from Darwin, received full support from local fans, but he lost his wicket trying to hit a strong delivery bowled by Hasan Mahmud. He scored 23 runs off 37 balls. In the next over, Hasan sent dangerous Travis Head (22 runs) to the pavilion. Head connected with his shots, and Australia's score quickly increased from 45/0 to 52/2.

Ibadat Hossain also put pressure on Bangladesh. He caused Marnus Labuschagne (1 run) to be caught by Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto. Ibadat had the opportunity to dismiss Steve Smith, but his catch in the third slip was missed. Smith took advantage of this chance. Meanwhile, after Green was dismissed shortly before the lunch break, Australia's score reached 74/4. For the Bangladeshi team, which has been on Australian soil for almost two decades, it would be hard to imagine a better start to the session.

Australia fielded a strong attacking lineup. Besides captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were responsible for fast bowling, and experienced off-spinner Nathan Lyon was also in the squad. Cummins is playing in his second Test in the last 13 months.