Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto reflected on the team losing eighteen wickets fell on the opening day of the second Test match against Australia. The entire match was over inside two days. Shanto believes the controversy around the early finish would have been very different had the same thing happened in the subcontinent. Australia levelled the two-match series with an innings-and-51-run victory at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay. The surface had plenty of help for pacers and 18 wickets fell on the first day while the remaining 12 fell on Day 2 as it was a very short game. Shanto issued a clear message to the cricket world.
“I think we all should remember this Test match. Eighteen wickets falling on the first day of a Test in subcontinent would have produced a lot of discussions. I would request you all not to forget when we next play in the subcontinent,” he said.
The comment came after a short match that produced just 369 runs across three completed innings and finished before tea on the second day. Mitchell Starc took 10 wickets in the match, while Bangladesh’s Shoriful Islam claimed 7 for 48 in Australia’s only innings. Shanto’s side had created history just a week earlier by winning the first Test in Darwin by nine wickets which was their first victory on Australian soil. The dramatic turnaround in Mackay left the series levelled at 1-1 and raised questions about pitches, preparation and how such results are viewed differently in Asia compared to overseas.
Australia Thrash Bangladesh in Second Test to level the series
Australia won the toss and chose to bowl on a tricky Mackay surface offering seam and bounce. Mitchell Starc needed just one ball to make an impact, removing opener Shadman Islam. He went on to dismantle the top order, finishing with 6 for 12 as Bangladesh were bowled out for 64 in 34 overs. It was their fourth-lowest total in Test history. Bangladesh fought back in the second innings with left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam, picking up career-best figures of 7 for 48 to leave Australia eight down for 165 by stumps on day one. Cameron Green’s unbeaten 51 was the only good knock for Australia. On the second morning Australia were bowled out for 210 but secured a lead of 146. Green top-scored with 67.
Bangladesh’s innings once again started poorly. Starc struck early again, removing Shadman and Mominul Haque in successive deliveries and finished with 4 for 39. Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon shared the remaining wickets as the visitors were bowled out for 95. Australia completed the innings-and-51-run win with more than two full days to spare. The two-Test series finished 1-1 after Bangladesh’s historic nine-wicket triumph in Darwin. Starc was named Player of the Match and Player of the Series. The Mackay result was only the second time Bangladesh had been dismissed for under 100 in both innings of a Test and produced one of the shortest completed matches in Australian cricket history.
