DARWIN: Bangladesh completed one of the biggest upsets in Test cricket on Sunday, beating top-ranked Australia by nine wickets in the series opener in Darwin to secure their first Test victory on Australian soil.
Bangladesh needed only 57 runs on the fourth morning at Marrara Oval and reached the target with little trouble, Mominul Haque hitting Beau Webster to the boundary to seal the win.
“This is the biggest win so far for Bangladesh in any format,” captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said. “Going forward, we want to do something special in the future.”
Australia, the World Test Championship leaders, were bowled out for 284 after resuming on 161-4, leaving Bangladesh a modest target.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz played a decisive role, taking four wickets on the final day after earlier contributing 65 with the bat. He also caught and bowled Steve Smith for 44 on the third day.
“It was excellent, a great moment for us,” Miraz said. “The way we are playing shows our character. Everything was perfect.”
The victory was Bangladesh’s first Test win in Australia and their most significant result in 26 years of playing the format.
It also represented a remarkable turnaround for the ninth-ranked side, who were dismissed for just 54 in a warm-up match against a Cricket Australia XI in Darwin little more than a week ago.
Bangladesh had also suffered a heavy defeat by Zimbabwe in a one-off Test in Harare in June.
Australia had beaten Bangladesh 2-0 in their previous Test series in 2003, with the two teams not meeting in Australia again until this series.
