Daijiworld Media Network - Darwin
Darwin, Aug 16: Bangladesh created history by securing their first-ever Test victory on Australian soil, defeating Australia by nine wickets in Darwin on Sunday and capping a dominant performance that saw them lead from the opening ball.
The victory came 23 years after Australia last hosted Bangladesh for a Test, with the visitors making the most of the opportunity and producing one of the most memorable results in their Test history.
The final act belonged to Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who ran through Australia's lower order on the fourth day to claim his 15th five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
Mehidy finished with 5 for 66 and was instrumental throughout the match, having also scored a valuable 65 in Bangladesh's first innings. His all-round contribution earned him a starring role in a historic victory.
Bangladesh resumed the fourth day in a strong position, but Australia still had six wickets in hand, including Cameron Green, and hoped to turn the contest around.
Green remained Australia's key hope and reached 85 by lunch. However, Mehidy struck twice in quick succession, removing Alex Carey and Beau Webster with deliveries that exposed the Australian middle order.
Carey pushed forward tentatively to a ball that drifted in, dipped and turned before taking the outside edge, while Webster was bowled after defending inside the line to a delivery that went straight on and hit the off-stump.
Australia were then left dependent on Green and their lower-order batters. Captain Pat Cummins fell while Australia were still behind, edging Mehidy to forward short leg.
Green and Mitchell Starc subsequently added 43 runs and helped Australia move into a narrow lead before Taskin Ahmed ended their partnership by dismissing Starc, who nicked the ball behind.
Green continued his impressive innings to register his third Test century and his first on home soil, reaching 104 and briefly giving Australia hope of setting Bangladesh a challenging target.
However, his innings ended soon after when he dragged a delivery from Hasan Mahmud onto his own stumps.
Mahmud had already played a major role in Bangladesh's victory, having claimed six wickets in Australia's first innings. He finished the match with impressive figures of 9 for 111.
Mehidy then completed Australia's innings by trapping Nathan Lyon leg before wicket, securing his five-wicket haul and leaving Bangladesh with just 57 runs to win.
Bangladesh briefly lost first-innings centurion Tanzid Hasan Tamim for a duck, but Mominul Haque and Shadman Islam calmly guided their side to victory.
Mominul remained unbeaten on 30 as Bangladesh reached 57 for one, sealing a historic nine-wicket victory in front of a sizeable Bangladeshi crowd in Darwin.
The result was particularly significant after Bangladesh had been bowled out for just 54 against a Cricket Australia XI in a warm-up match last week, raising questions over their competitiveness ahead of the Test.
Those doubts were emphatically answered as Bangladesh dominated Australia across the match and became the first Bangladeshi side to win a Test on Australian soil.
Brief scores: Australia 198 & 284 (Cameron Green 104; Mehidy Hasan Miraz 5-66, Hasan Mahmud 3-56) lost to Bangladesh 426 (Tanzid Hasan Tamim 101, Najmul Hossain Shanto 84, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 65; Josh Hazlewood 6-89) & 57/1 (Mominul Haque 30*) by nine wickets.