Bangladesh players celebrate their win over Australia in the first Test in Dhaka on Wednesday. Getty ImagesBangladesh scripted a historic win over Australia in the opening Test in Dhaka to underline their growing stature in world cricket. It was the Tigers' third maiden win over a Test-playing nation in the last 11 months. Last October, they stunned England at home, then in March they outplayed Sri Lanka on their home soil, and now comes the special win over Steve Smith's Australia. Incidentally the win over Sri Lanka in their previous outing in Colombo was also Bangladesh's hundredth Test.
Bangladesh are benefiting from all the hard times they had to endure over the years. They kept losing, but the players have gained vastly from those experiences and now the Tigers have got a core group of players who believe they can challenge any team on a given day. Bangladesh had made it to the semifinals of an ICC event for the first time in the Champions Trophy in June.
Shakib Al Hasan, the face of Bangladesh cricket, was at the forefront of the home side's triumph over the Aussies. Shakib scalped five each in both innings besides top-scoring with a fine 84 in Bangladesh's first essay in his 50th Test. Tamim Iqbal too had a match to remember as the left-handed opener produced two quality knocks of 71 and 78. Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan and left-arm spinner Taijul Islam provided admirable support to Shakib and picked up vital wickets.
It was always going to be an uphill task for the Australians once they conceded a first innings lead of 43 runs. Chasing a victory target of 265 on a track offering considerable assistance to the spinners, David Warner held the Australian innings together along with Smith. Warner adopted aggressive methods to end his poor run of scores in the subcontinent with a plucky 112. But once Warner and Smith fell, it was advantage Bangladesh. Though Pat Cummins fought till the end, he was stranded on 33 as the visitors fell short by 20 runs. Bangladeshi fans, who have supported their team in both good and bad times, erupted in joy as Taijul trapped No. 11 Josh Hazlewood in front of the wicket to wrap up a memorable win.
Bangladesh fans celebrate their side's triumph. Getty ImagesHowever, it's only half the job done for Bangladesh as the second and final Test begins in Chittagong on Monday and it's up to skipper Mushfiqur Rahim to make sure that the boys remain focused and go on to achieve a famous series win.
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