Darwin: The Bangladesh bowlers overshadowed Australia’s Big Four getting back together on day one of the first test as the host was dismissed for 198 and Hasan Mahmud took a career-best 6-55 on Thursday.
And just to show the flurry of wickets wasn’t entirely down to the conditions, Bangladesh’s top-order batters combined to reach 96-1 at stumps and cut the first-innings deficit to 102.
“Excited to play in Australia,” Hasan said of Bangladesh’s first test match in Australia since 2003. “To get the opportunity to play in these conditions as well … I just tried to maintain the process and just follow what the captain was saying.”
He stuck to the script with a consistent line and length, striking in his sixth and seventh overs to remove openers Jake Weatherald (23) and Travis Head (22) after Australia won the toss and raced to 45 without loss on a green-tinged pitch.
From there, Hasan and fellow pacemen Taskin Ahmed (2-55) and Ebadot Hossain (2-39) dominated the first two sessions, bowling with discipline to exploit the conditions and get on top of a batting lineup that was held together primarily by Steve Smith’s defiant 71.
Smith was the next-to-last wicket to fall, advancing at Hasan and top-edging a high catch to wicketkeeper Litton Das and ending an innings that contained seven boundaries and a six.
The day started positively for the hosts, with skipper Pat Cummins winning the toss. Playing just his second test in 13 months, he reunited with fellow pacemen Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc and veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon in a frontline attack long known in Australia as the Big Four.
A partisan crowd was in full support of Darwin-born Weatherald but he never really settled and needlessly swiped at a ball from Hasan. Head was out soon after, chopping on a delivery that was bowled from around the wicket as Australia slipped to 52-2.
Ebadot had Marnus Labuschagne (1) caught by Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and could have had the wicket of Smith early, too, but for a dropped chance at third slip.
Bangladesh took a full toll on the opening morning, restricting the hosts to 74-4 when allrounder Cameron Green (13) was out immediately before the lunch interval.
Ebadot dismissed Alex Carey (19) after the break and Taskin bowled Beau Webster (12).
Hasan had Cummins (9) and Starc (1) out edging and wrapped up the innings in 53 overs with the wickets of Smith and Lyon.
Despite having its first-choice bowling attack reassembled, Australia wasn’t able to get more than one Bangladesh wicket.
Shadman Islam scored 20 when he got a leading edge off left-arm paceman Starc and was caught by Lyon at cover point with the total at 36.
Mominal Haque (35) and Tanzid Hasan (32) then shared an unbeaten 60-run stand.
Smith agreed the Australians were rusty after not playing a test in eight months.
“It can take some time to get into it on occasions,” he said. Batting in the first session “wasn’t easy, wasn’t a heap of pace on the ball, and it was tacky and seaming around a bit.”
The bowlers “looked at the wicket yesterday and they said it was rock hard, and then today when we rocked up with a bit of dew on the ground, it felt softer,” Smith added. “So hopefully the same tomorrow and the ball starts talking a bit in the morning.”
The two-test “Top End” series starts a heavy 12-month schedule for the Australians that will feature 20 test matches, including tours to South Africa, India and England.
