DARWIN : Bangladesh produced one of the finest bowling displays in their Test history to dismiss top-ranked Australia for 198 before reaching 96-1 at stumps on the opening day of the first Test in Darwin on Thursday.
Playing their first Test in Australia in 23 years, Bangladesh were inspired by paceman Hasan Mahmud, whose 6-55 dismantled the hosts and gave them their lowest innings total in seven Tests against Bangladesh.
Mahmud claimed the prized wicket of Steve Smith for 71, finishing with the third-best bowling figures by a Bangladesh fast bowler in Test cricket.
Australia’s decision to bat first after captain Pat Cummins won the toss backfired on a slow, green-tinged Marrara Oval pitch, with Smith the only batter to pass 25.
“Yeah, not our best. Still plenty of cricket to be played, obviously,” Smith said after the day’s play.
“It would have been nice to have taken a few more wickets. Hopefully we start well in the morning, pick up a few early ones and put pressure on.”
Hasan leads pace masterclass
Australia appeared comfortable at 45 without loss before Mahmud sparked a collapse by removing both openers.
Local debutant Jake Weatherald made 23 before edging to the slips, while Travis Head chopped onto his stumps for 22.
Marnus Labuschagne fell for one after nicking Ebadot Hossain, and Cameron Green’s 13-ball 13 ended when he was caught at short midwicket off Taskin Ahmed.
Smith and Alex Carey briefly steadied the innings with a 55-run stand, but Carey’s dismissal for 19 triggered another collapse.
Taskin bowled Beau Webster with a superb delivery before Mahmud returned to clean up the tail, with Smith top-edging a slog to depart as Australia’s last major resistance ended.
Bangladesh respond with confidence
Bangladesh’s batters showed far greater patience against Australia’s celebrated attack of Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon.
Starc made the only breakthrough, dismissing Shadman Islam for 20 with Lyon taking the catch at cover point.
The wicket also took Starc to 434 Test wickets, moving him past Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath as the most successful left-arm bowler in Test history.
Opener Tanzid Hasan remained unbeaten on 32 alongside Mominul Haque on 35, with the pair adding an unbroken 60-run partnership to leave Bangladesh trailing by just 102 runs.
The stand surpassed Bangladesh’s entire second innings of 54 in their recent warm-up defeat to a Cricket Australia XI and capped a memorable opening day for a pace attack already weakened by injuries to Nahid Rana and Shoriful Islam.
Smith said the pitch had been “tacky” during the morning session because of dew and hoped Bangladesh would encounter similar conditions when play resumed on Friday.
