Visiting teams have won in Australia in the past, but few have been as dominant from day one as Bangladesh in Darwin.
Admit it. You did not think Bangladesh would win even after Hasan Mahmud weaved magic on the first day. Not after Bangladesh wiped 96 of Australia’s 198 runs by stumps that evening. Not after they lost only five wickets on day two, not after they stretched the lead to 228.
At that point you probably looked up the biggest deficits Australia had overcome to win Tests. You thought of the New Year’s Test of 2010 where a 206-run lead was not enough for Pakistan. Or of SSC 1992 or Durban 1949/50. You ignored the 79 instances where Australia had not won after trailing by 200.
You were worried. You have known Australia, and the beasts they turn into at home. You knew the odds. You knew the history. You knew teams threatened from time to time but Australia invariably won in the end. You were pessimistic, because that is what Australia can do to visitors, to neutrals, to everyone. Barring the odd phase, the 21st-century history of Test cricket in Australia has been about Australian wins.
Your cynicism prevented you from realising that Bangladesh had seized control of the Test match on the first day, pocketed it on the second, and rubber-stamped the win when Steve Smith fell on the third. You cannot be blamed, because visiting teams do not do these things to Australia.
It is not that they do not win there. But when they do, Australia keep gnawing back until the end. Teams have to stamp them out of the game, then double-check to confirm it is really dusted. When they do, fairytales are born. Think Rishabh Pant. Think Shamar Joseph. Think JP Duminy. Think Doug Bracewell. People still talk about those Tests.
There are obviously exceptions. South Africa dominated Australia from the onset at Hobart in 2015/16, but you expect South African fast bowlers to do these things when conditions help. England did it in 2010/11, but that Australian side was undergoing a transition.
Not Bangladesh. Back in 2003, Australia had hosted them in Darwin and Cairns in July. The next series came only this year, in Darwin and Mackay in August. Off-season matches in new venues – it was almost as if Australia did not consider Bangladesh worthy of being invited to play Test cricket. And that was acceptable to everyone because, you know, the ‘chasm’ between the sides.
Except that in 2026, that gap has more to do with reputations than form. Bangladesh used their fast bowlers to beat Australia in the home ODIs earlier this year, but even that did not come as a warning.
When Bangladesh arrived for this tour, few gave them a chance, even when the cracks had started to show in the Australian lineup. No bowling quartet in Test cricket has dominated for as long as the current Australian one. But they are aging, are battling fitness issues, and have assembled after thirteen months off. The backups are Scott Boland, 37; Michael Neser, 36; Brendan Doggett, 32; and Jhye Richardson, 29. They have played 30 Tests between them. There is no young fast bowler raring to go.
While Australia refused to rotate their fast bowlers (except in injuries), Bangladesh built an excellent, ever-improving pace attack over the past four years and a bit. Of their Test pacers, Taskin Ahmed is 31, Mahmud 26, while the rest are below 25. That makes them the youngest of the quality attacks in the world. And they have a group of seamers in the same age-group on the bench.
This stunning rise of the Bangladesh pace attack has gone somewhat under the radar. The BCB invested in high-profile fast-bowling coaches over the past few years (perhaps none as significant as Allan Donald). As domestic captain, Mominul Haque pushed for pitches that catered to seam and carried that vision to the national side. His successors carried the mantle. Taskin returned from the wilderness to lead the pack. The triumphant 2020 U19 World Cup gave Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, and Tanzim Hasan Sakib. Mustafizur Rahman brought all his experience to the shorter formats. And finally came Nahid Rana, the fastest in their history.
The gap has closed over the years without anyone noticing, because Australia do not play Bangladesh at Test cricket. Because Australia’s is a legendary attack on the decline. Because Bangladesh’s is promising and on the rise.
In another era, the Australian batters could have overcome all of this. Not anymore. Travis Head’s astonishing innings have been punctuated by low scores (surely he can return to No.5?). Marnus Labuschagne’s great days seem to be from another era. Against a strong attack – and Bangladesh’s is one – there are too many gaping holes to plug even for a man of Steve Smith’s calibre. When Mahmud & co. consistently hit the right areas, they resisted for a while before caving in.
Contrast this to Bangladesh. Their batters were happy to wait for the bad ball against the fast bowlers. At the same time, they refused to let go of anything loose. When Nathan Lyon came on, they used their feet to ensure no pressure was built at the other end. It took Lyon 23 overs to bowl a maiden. Australia tried Cameron Green and Beau Webster. They had no impact.
Less than a year ago, England had gift-wrapped too many wickets to Australia. Here, their aging fast bowlers were made to toil. Bangladesh batted 138 overs in their first innings. Pakistan were the last team to bat longer when all four Australian stars played. And that was on a flat Rawalpindi wicket, in 2021/22. Before that, it was only the Indians of 2018/19.
Tanzid Hasan Tamim was the one to get a hundred and there were two fifties and a 49. But as important was their last four batters keeping out 165 balls against a tiring attack, extinguishing the last glimmer of hope. For perspective, the first five Australians to be dismissed in the Test lasted 152 balls.
The Bangladeshi fast bowlers (and finger-spinners) did what cricket fans are used to seeing Australians do in Australia. For four days in Darwin, they metamorphosed into Australians so much that it was difficult to tell which side was which. In hindsight, that was not as shocking, for the Australian batting frailties were spoken about even before the series.
It was the Bangladesh batting that surprised more by blunting the famed Australian attack. Once their bowlers bought them time, the Bangladesh batters did not try to dominate but wore down the giants, bit by bit, in the old-fashioned way.
It was survival of the fittest all over again. Fittingly, it happened in Darwin.
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