In a stunning upset, Bangladesh defeated Australia by nine wickets in Darwin, marking their first-ever Test win on Australian soil.
Kuwait City, Kuwait Aug 16, 2026 ALN: A dominant Bangladesh stunned Australia to win the opening Test by a crushing nine wickets in Darwin on Sunday, achieving a historic first-ever Test victory on Australian soil. After bowling Australia out for 284, the visitors needed just 57 runs to secure the win, which they accomplished with ease when Mominul Haque slashed Beau Webster to the backward point boundary. This remarkable victory is expected to send shockwaves through the cricketing world.
“This is the biggest win so far for Bangladesh in any format,” said captain Najmul Hossain Shanto. “Going forward, we want to do something special in the future. I’m very happy and proud of myself and the way the boys played. We did a lot of hard work.”
After bowling Australia out for 198 in the first innings, Bangladesh consistently looked like the more likely team to win. They maintained pressure throughout Sunday and did not panic when Cameron Green (104) brought up his third Test century after lunch on day four.
Green received little support from his teammates, as the Bangladesh bowlers kept taking crucial wickets, leaving Australia on the ropes. Mehidy Hasan Miraz was particularly impressive, taking 5-66. Najmul attributed the shock win to the players, especially the fast bowlers, placing greater emphasis on red-ball cricket. “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 the Test format,” he explained.
“They want to play, want to perform, want to be world-class. That is the mindset they now have.” Australia captain Pat Cummins praised their opponents, admitting Bangladesh outperformed them in every aspect. This victory marks Bangladesh’s first Test win in Australia, having previously lost two attempts.
“They outplayed us in all facets; they were patient and disciplined,” Cummins said. “I thought our preparation was spot-on, no excuses. They played well. We had to find a way to bat longer, and then we couldn’t penetrate with the ball.”
The visitors entered the match with most observers giving them little chance of winning. Their only warm-up game, against a Cricket Australia XI, ended in a significant loss, including a second-innings collapse where they were all out for just 54 runs.
However, Bangladesh completely outplayed the Australians, winning every session and demonstrating superior batting, bowling, and fielding skills against their more illustrious counterparts.
Australia, fielding their best possible team, appeared out of sorts from the beginning. Their batting faltered in the first innings, bowled out on the opening day, while their much-lauded bowling attack struggled against the determined Bangladesh batsmen. Led by a maiden Test century from opener Tanzid Hasan, Bangladesh scored 426 runs, keeping Australia in the field for 138 overs in Darwin’s heat and humidity.
The bowlers exhibited great patience on Saturday, making regular breakthroughs and keeping Australia under pressure. When Australia resumed on Sunday at 161-4, their hopes rested on Alex Carey and Green.
Carey lived dangerously in the opening 30 minutes, edging seamer Hasan Mahmud through the vacant slips cordon for boundaries twice. However, on 30, off-spinner Mehidy produced a beautiful delivery that pitched in line and turned sharply, taking Carey’s outside edge to wicketkeeper Litton Das.
Mehidy struck again soon after, bowling Webster for five and leaving Australia at 193-6 and in deep trouble. A famous victory edged closer when Cummins pushed forward to a Mehidy delivery, getting an inside edge to short leg, where Shadman Islam took a sharp catch.
With Australia at 207-7, still 21 runs behind Bangladesh’s first-innings total, Green and Mitchell Starc batted sensibly to ensure Bangladesh had to bat again. Starc fell for 18, caught behind, but Green was playing well.
Despite looking increasingly comfortable, he was undone when a Hasan delivery kept low, hitting the toe end of his bat and crashing into the stumps. Mehidy wrapped up the innings by trapping Nathan Lyon plumb in front. Despite losing Tanzid in the first over, Mominul and Shadman cruised to victory.
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