Bangladesh notch historic Test win against Australia

Herald Correspondent
Published: 16 Aug, 2026
Updated: 19 Aug, 2026
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Bangladesh pulled off a historic nine-wicket victory over Australia in the first test on Sunday, securing its first win on Australian soil and only its second victory over the top-ranked Australia in Darwin on Sunday.

With this landmark win, Bangladesh are now placed fourth in the WTC standings with 66.67 PCT.

After making a vital half-century in Bangladesh’s first innings, Mehidy Hasan Miraz took five wickets in Australia’s second innings to restrict the hosts to a lead of just 56 runs, before Australia was bowled out for 284 midway through the afternoon session at Darwin’s Marrara Oval.

Cameron Green scored his third test century, and his first in Australia, making a composed 104 from 201 balls to lead Australia’s resistance and give Bangladesh a modest target.

Bangladesh suffered some early nerves when Josh Hazlewood (1-5) dismissed first-innings centurion Tanzid Hasan for a duck, but Shadman Islam (25 not out) and Mominul Haque (30 not out) held their composure to chase down the target in 14.2 overs sparking wild celebrations within the contingent of Bangladesh fans seated behind the team’s dugout on the boundary.

Opting to bat first, Australia could not get going against the pace attack of Bangladesh as Hasan Mahmud got rid of both the openers. 

The visitors continued to attack with wickets at regular intervals with just Steve Smith showing some resilience for the former World Test Champions. 

Australia eventually folded out for 198 with player of the match Mahmud delivering a memorable spell (6/55) that set up things nicely for Bangladesh.

In the process, Mahmud also became the first Bangladesh pacer to notch a Test five-wicket haul in Australia, Pakistan and India.

Bangladesh's reply in the first innings with the bat was led by opener Tanzid Hasan's magnificent century (101 off 197 balls) combined with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto's 84 off 126 balls. 

A crucial contribution of 65 off 154 balls by Mehidy Hasan Miraz overshadowed Josh Hazlewood's six-wicket haul as Bangladesh were bowled out for 426.

Mahmud continued to impress in the second innings as well. He removed the Australia openers cheaply again giving Bangladesh the dream start.


With a hefty lead lead of 228, spin played a significant role for the visitors as Mehidy took charge with a wonderful five-wicket haul. 

Cameron Green (104 off 201 balls) waged a lone battle but the Shanto-led side gave little away as Australia were bowled out for 284 runs.

Requiring just 57 runs to win, the visitors got there with nine wickets to spare marking a significant moment in Bangladesh cricket.

The historic win came up after Bangladesh were skittled out for 54 runs in the warm-up match against Cricket Australia XI. 

Shanto, who was determined to put up a fight against a challenging Australia side, credited the team after the momentous victory. 

"Very happy, proud of myself and the way the boys played. We did lot of hard work," he said during the post-match presentation, calling it the biggest Bangladesh win across formats.

"Earlier, five years ago, pacers didn't want to play Tests. But we've been playing lots of Test cricket and they are giving importance to Test format.

"They want to play, want to perform, want to be world-class. That is the mindset they now have.

"This is the biggest win so far for Bangladesh in any format. Going forward, we want to do something special in the future."