Bangladesh Suffer Two-Day Test Defeat in Australia

Bangladesh had heard the threats before—two-day wins, even one-day wins—whenever they came to Australia. They heard them again this time. In the first Test in Darwin, Bangladesh had the last laugh, winning before the end of the fourth day. But at the new Test venue in Mackay, Australia gave them no such chance.

The Test at the Great Barrier Reef Arena began yesterday and was over just three balls after the tea break today. Australia could not make good on their two-day threat in Darwin, but in Mackay they finally did it, beating Bangladesh inside two days for the first time in their Test history.

For Mackay locals, there was no need to take a day off work to watch their city’s first Test. It was played entirely over the weekend—Saturday and Sunday. Australia made the most of both days, wrapping up a crushing victory and drawing the series 1-1.

This was only the 28th Test in history to produce a result inside two days. The most recent examples came last year, when two Ashes Tests in Perth and Melbourne were both completed within two days.

Bangladesh were bowled out for just 64 in their first innings and 95 in their second. That meant both innings ended below 100—a feat Test cricket had not witnessed for 21 years. Before this, the last team to be dismissed for under 100 in both innings was Zimbabwe, who scored 59 and 99 against New Zealand in Harare in August 2005.

Remarkably, Bangladesh had arrived in Australia hoping to become the first team in 139 years to whitewash Australia in a home Test series. Instead, they were blown away in just two days on a Mackay pitch that offered extraordinary assistance to the pace bowlers.

Mitchell Starc’s fiery spell reduced Bangladesh to 64 in the first innings. Australia then found themselves in trouble too, as Bangladesh left-arm seamer Shoriful Islam tore through their batting. Australia ended the first day on 165 for 8.

They returned on Sunday morning and batted for 54 minutes, adding another 45 runs before losing their final two wickets. Australia finished with 210, securing a first-innings lead of 146. Cameron Green, who scored a century in the opening Test, top-scored with 67 from 105 balls, while Nathan Lyon remained unbeaten on 32 off 62 deliveries.

Shoriful, who had taken six wickets on the opening day, completed his seven-wicket haul by removing Green with an inswinging yorker that trapped him lbw. It was the best Test bowling figures by a Bangladeshi pace bowler. The previous record belonged to Shahadat Hossain, who took 6 for 27 against South Africa in 2008. Shoriful broke that record 18 years later.

Bangladesh needed at least 146 in their second innings to force Australia back to the crease. Tanzeed Hasan gave them a promising start, driving Starc straight for four from the very first ball. But that early optimism quickly disappeared.

Bangladesh never looked capable of seriously challenging Australia’s lead. Once three wickets had fallen for just 24 runs, the main question was no longer whether Bangladesh could save the Test, but when the match would end.

Could they somehow drag it into a third day?

There were plenty of Bangladeshi supporters in Mackay who had travelled from other Australian cities to watch the match. They too began doing the calculations. Some took comfort in the fact that Bangladesh had won the first Test in Darwin in four days. Australia, they reasoned, might simply have won this one a little earlier. The series would still finish level.

But as Bangladesh’s second-innings wickets continued to fall, consolation gradually turned into frustration. They could have batted better. Could they not have found a way to take the Test into a third or even fourth day?

Starc struck in the second over of his second spell, and the third over of the innings. On the second ball, opener Shadman Islam was dismissed. The short-of-a-length delivery climbed on him as he appeared unable to decide what to do, taking the edge and flying to Marnus Labuschagne at point.

The next ball produced an extraordinary dismissal. Mominul Haque hesitated over a delivery on off stump and somehow decided to leave it. He had been dismissed the previous day after playing at a ball well outside off; this time, he left a ball on his stumps and was bowled.

Starc again threatened a hat-trick, just as he had in the first innings, but could not complete one. He still finished with four wickets, playing a major role in dismantling Bangladesh’s batting for the second time.

Australia captain Pat Cummins also set an aggressive field. At times, seven fielders were positioned behind the wicket, with the wicketkeeper, slips and gully all waiting for an edge.

In the eighth over, Tanzeed fell to a Cummins bouncer. As the ball climbed sharply, he attempted a loose pull and found Starc at long leg. It was exactly the kind of trap Australia had set for Bangladesh’s pull and hook shots.

Bangladesh went to lunch at 39 for 3.

But five more wickets fell before tea. At 95 for 8, Bangladesh went into the interval still 51 runs behind. The match lasted only three more balls after tea. Lyon bowled the first over of the final session, dismissing Taskin Ahmed with the first ball and Shoriful Islam with the third to bring the Test to an abrupt end, with almost the entire final session still remaining.

Earlier, in the 21st over, Najmul Hossain Shanto had advanced down the pitch and chipped a simple catch to Starc at long-off. He had tried to attack Lyon earlier in the same over and was eventually dismissed while attempting another big shot.

Litton Das, who had already recorded three ducks in the four innings of the series, edged Starc to slip. Mehidy Hasan Miraz also fell attempting to hit a delivery well outside off stump.

There is no denying that the Mackay pitch made batting extremely difficult. But after the way Bangladesh’s batsmen got out, the question remains: just how much of the blame can really be placed on the surface?

Bangladesh may have achieved a historic first by drawing a Test series in Australia, but the manner of this defeat will leave plenty to regret. They went to Australia dreaming of a historic whitewash. Instead, on their first visit to Mackay, they suffered their first-ever two-day defeat in Test cricket.