Hasan Mahmud rips through Australia as Bangladesh seize day one in Darwin
Bangladesh fast bowler Hasan Mahmud took a career-best 6 for 55 to bowl Australia out for 198 on the opening day of the first Test at Marrara Stadium in Darwin, before Bangladesh's batters closed the gap to 102 runs by stumps at 96 for 1.
Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to bat, but the decision backfired inside the first hour. Mahmud removed openers Jake Weatherald (23) and Travis Head (22) in his sixth and seventh overs, and Ebadot Hossain had Marnus Labuschagne caught behind by captain Najmul Hossain Shanto for just 1 (The Guardian). A Test innings, for the uninitiated, unfolds across two innings per side over up to five days — and a team bowled out cheaply on day one has already handed the opposition a head start.
Steve Smith offered the only real resistance. He top-scored with 71 off 109 balls, hitting seven fours and a six, and was the next-to-last wicket to fall when he top-edged Mahmud to wicketkeeper Litton Das. Australia slumped to 183 for 8 at tea (Reuters), and Mahmud wrapped things up by dismissing last man Nathan Lyon for 7, ending the innings in 53 overs.
Mahmud's 6 for 55 was his third five-wicket haul in Test cricket — a "five-for" being the benchmark of a standout bowling performance — and he became the first Bangladeshi bowler to achieve the feat on Australian soil (Sportstar/Facebook). The 26-year-old had signposted his threat with 4 for 42 in a warm-up match against a Cricket Australia XI in Darwin the previous week (Cricket.com.au). Taskin Ahmed (2 for 55) and Ebadot Hossain (2 for 39) shared the remaining wickets, with Hossain also accounting for Alex Carey (19) after lunch and Taskin bowling Beau Webster for 12.
Cummins (9) and Mitchell Starc (1) both edged Mahmud to the keeper before tea, compounding a tough day for the Australian captain, who was playing only his second Test in 13 months. Australia reunited their first-choice bowling attack of Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, with Hazlewood selected ahead of Scott Boland (Cricket.com.au). The match is Australia's first Test in Darwin in two decades and Bangladesh's first Test in Australia since 2003.
Bangladesh's reply could hardly have started more smoothly. Opener Shadman Islam made 20 before a leading edge off Starc was caught by Lyon at cover point, but Mominul Haque (35 not out) and Tanzid Hasan (32 not out) then put together an unbroken 60-run stand to guide Bangladesh to stumps at 96 for 1 — trailing by just 102. In a Test, the first-innings lead matters enormously: bat last on a wearing pitch and the cracks and rough patches make runs progressively harder to come by. Bangladesh have given themselves a genuine chance to bat Australia out of the contest.
What makes this day stand out is the rarity of it all. Bangladesh have toured Australia for a Test only twice before, and on neither previous visit did they trouble the hosts like this. Mahmud's six-wicket haul in conditions that ought to have suited the Australian quicks — pace, bounce and a hard Darwin surface — flipped the script on day one. Four days remain, but the tourists have already made this a contest.
