DHAKA: Bangladesh gripped the first ever win over Australia in test cricket as the hosts beat the visitors by 20 runs in their 1st test of series at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium Wednesday (August 30).
The Australian batting squad was smashed by the Tiger spinners after going through massive destruction on the fourth day.
Earlier, Tiger all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan dismissed Maxwell on the second session and confirmed a five-wicket haul in the second innings.
Flying with the Shakib-wing, Bangladesh started to smell the victory against the visiting Aussies.
In his 50th Test but his first against Australia, Shakib Al Hasan confirmed his status as the game's leading allrounder with one of the finest individual efforts the game has seen, finishing with match figures of 10-153 to add to his first-innings knock of 84.
Fortune favored the Tiger spinners at Mirpur Wednesday.
Bangladesh's victory comes less than 12 months after defeating England at the same venue and their win over Australia confirms the Tigers' - for so long written off as the minnows of world cricket -rise as a legitimate force.
Australia's enduring vulnerability to spin-bowling on the subcontinent remains a major concern and they've now won just one of their past 16 Tests in Asia.
While Shakib has been Bangladesh's trump card, his fellow tweaker Mehedi Hasan had arguably been as impressive in Australia's first dig after accounting for both Warner and Smith.
Bangladesh have now won Tests against England, Sri Lanka and Australia within the past year. In the previous 16 years of their Test existence, they had defeated only Zimbabwe and a second-string West Indies outfit ravaged by a player strike. The significance of their successes over the past 12 months cannot be understated. It is no coincidence that the major contributors to this triumph were two of their most experienced players, Shakib and Tamim Iqbal.
For Australia, the result might appear disastrous. In fact it was a natural continuation of their struggles against quality spin on turning pitches in Asia. They lost to Pakistan in the UAE in 2014, in Sri Lanka last year, and to India this year - albeit much more competitively. And if they lose the second Test in Chittagong, they will tumble to sixth on the ICC Test rankings for the first time since the system was introduced. They have much still to play for.
Bangladesh 260 (Shakib 84, Tamim 71, Agar 3-46, Cummins 3-63) and 221 (Tamim 78, Mushfiqur 41, Lyon 6-82) beat Australia 217 (Renshaw 45, Shakib 5-68) and 244 (Warner 112, Shakib 5-85) by 20 runs
BANGLADESH
Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (c), Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman
AUSTRALIA
Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Matthew Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
Bangladesh squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (c), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed, Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam, Mominul Haque.
Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade.
BDST: 1500 HRS, AUG 30, 2017
SI/AP/SMS
