Shanto calls Bangladesh’s historic Test victory over Australia their 'biggest win' ever

DARWIN: Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has described his side’s historic nine-wicket victory over Australia in the first Test in Darwin as the country’s “biggest win so far in any format”.

Bangladesh, ranked ninth in the Test rankings, stunned the world’s No. 1 Test side on their home soil, producing a commanding all-round performance to take an unassailable 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

It was only Bangladesh’s third Test on Australian soil, while Australia were also leading the World Test Championship standings. The hosts, however, were outplayed in all departments as Bangladesh secured one of the most significant victories in their history.

“This is the biggest win so far for Bangladesh in any format,” Shanto said during the post-match presentation. “Going forward, we will do something special in the future.

“Very happy and proud of myself and the way the boys played. We did a lot of hard work and are very happy to win.”

Shanto reserved special praise for Bangladesh’s fast bowlers, who dismissed Australia for 198 in the first innings before Mehidy Hasan Miraz claimed five wickets to help bowl the hosts out for 284 in their second innings, leaving Bangladesh with a target of just 57.

“The rise of fast bowlers is the biggest change in Bangladesh cricket in the Test format,” Shanto said.

“Normally, five or six years ago, the pace bowlers didn’t want to play Test cricket since we didn’t play enough Test cricket. But in the last two or three years, we’ve been playing a lot of Test matches and the boys are giving importance to the Test format.

“They now want to play and perform because they want to be world-class. That is the mindset they now have.

“Especially the senior guys, like Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque, helped them a lot by encouraging them to play more Test cricket. Those are the areas they are thinking about and the mindset they now have.”

Bangladesh’s memorable victory was set up by opener Tanzid Hasan, who scored a superb 101 in the first innings as the visitors posted 426 and secured a commanding 228-run lead.

The century was only Tanzid’s second Test appearance after making his debut earlier this year against Pakistan at home.

“He’s exciting. If you look at his white-ball game, he always plays attacking cricket, but in this Test match he showed his character, was very calm and played according to the merit of the ball,” Shanto said.

“We all know he has that ability to play Test cricket and, as top-order batsmen, we want someone to make an impact for the team and he delivered in this match.”

Fast bowler Hasan Mahmud was named Player of the Match after finishing with nine wickets, including a six-wicket haul in the first innings.

“Before the match, in every practice session, we’ve been doing our best every day, in every session, and we were focusing on the fact that whatever happens, just believe in your process and don’t think about the outcome,” Hasan said.

“Whatever happens, we have to play for five days and then the result will come.

“Our bowlers have done very well. With patience, they followed the process, hitting the right line and length, and we knew the results would come.”

Mehidy was Bangladesh’s star on the fourth day, claiming his 15th five-wicket haul in Tests. He had removed the key wicket of Steven Smith on the third evening before adding four more wickets, including the final dismissal that sparked jubilant celebrations in the Bangladesh camp.

“It was an excellent performance by our team and the way we played shows our character. Everything was perfect,” Mehidy said.

“After losing the practice match, we still had belief. We thought it was a great opportunity for us in these conditions. After a long time, 23 years, we came here.

“They are a very good and world-class team. They have lots of good players, and if we beat them, it would be great for our country and our cricket. We knew we had to believe; otherwise, we couldn’t do it.”

Looking ahead to the second Test, which begins six days later, Mehidy stressed the importance of maintaining the same belief and approach.

“I think we have to believe as a unit. We have to think about how to perform in these conditions, and as a team we bowl well and bat well,” he said.

“Tanzid and Shadman [Islam], the way they batted in the first 10 overs, they showed their batting. Then Mominul [Haque] did very well, and later there were excellent partnerships involving Hasan, Taskin and Taijul.

“We kept saying we have to stay there, even if they have a very good attack. Play positively and don’t think about the bowling, like who is coming, and just play the ball.”

Bangladesh are enjoying a stellar year in Test cricket, having won three of their four matches under Shanto’s leadership.

Mehidy praised his captain for his decision-making and leadership.

“He is a very good captain and he makes very good decisions at the right time,” Mehidy said.

“Everybody is happy back home. I think it’s a proud moment and they are enjoying it. There was also a lot of Bangladeshi crowd here. Thank you very much for coming and supporting us. They believed that we could win the match, and that’s why we won the match.”

Asked whether the victory had given Bangladesh the confidence to complete a 2-0 series sweep in Mackay, Shanto said the team had gained belief but must continue to execute its plans.

“We have that evidence, but we need to play good cricket,” Shanto said.

“As I said before this Test match, we have to play five days of good cricket, and again I’m going to say the same thing. As we did in this Test match, follow the process, play session by session.

“Bowlers did their job, batsmen chipped in, and especially the lower middle order and lower order, the way they added runs. Those are the things we need to do in Mackay.”