Shanto Calls Bangladesh’s Historic Australia Test Win Their Biggest Victory

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

The victory gave Bangladesh an unassailable 1-0 lead in the two-match series and marked one of the most significant results in the country’s Test history. Ranked ninth in the Test rankings, Bangladesh produced an outstanding all-round performance to defeat the world No. 1 side on home soil.

“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.”

Bangladesh’s victory was built around a disciplined bowling performance. Their fast bowlers claimed all 10 Australian wickets in the first innings, restricting the hosts to 198. Mehidy Hasan Miraz then took five wickets in the second innings as Australia were dismissed for 284, leaving Bangladesh with only 57 runs to chase.

Shanto highlighted the emergence of Bangladesh’s fast-bowling attack as one of the biggest developments in the country’s Test cricket.

“That [the rise of fast bowlers] is the biggest change in Bangladesh cricket in the Test format,” he 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 lots of Test matches and the boys are giving importance to the Test format.”

He added that Bangladesh’s senior players had played an important role in encouraging the younger cricketers to embrace Test cricket.

The victory was also set up by a superb century from opener Tanzid Hasan. In only his second Test, Tanzid scored 101 to help Bangladesh post 426 and secure a commanding first-innings lead of 228 runs.

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

Fast bowler Hasan Mahmud was named Player of the Match after taking nine wickets, including a six-wicket haul in Australia’s first innings. He credited Bangladesh’s preparation and commitment to their process for the remarkable result.

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

Mehidy was another key figure in the victory, claiming his 15th five-wicket haul in Test cricket. He took the crucial wicket of Steven Smith on the third evening before completing the Australian innings with the final wicket on the fourth day.

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

Mehidy also praised the team’s belief after Bangladesh lost their practice match before the Test. He said the players viewed the series as a major opportunity to make an impact in Australian conditions.

Bangladesh’s victory continued an impressive run in Test cricket under Shanto’s leadership. The team has now won three of its four Tests this year, establishing itself as a growing force in the longest format.

Mehidy also praised Shanto’s captaincy, saying the Bangladesh skipper had made important decisions at the right moments.

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

With the second Test in Mackay just six days away, Bangladesh now have an opportunity to complete a historic 2-0 series sweep.

Shanto, however, remained cautious despite the confidence generated by the Darwin triumph.

“We have that evidence but we need to play good cricket,” he said. “We have to play five days of good cricket. 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. Those are the things we need to play in Mackay.”

Bangladesh will now look to carry the momentum from Darwin into the second Test and attempt to secure a historic series whitewash against Australia.