Bangladesh stunned Australia on the opening day of the first Test at Darwin on Thursday. The hosts went into the game full strength, but after deciding to bat first, fell by the wayside and were bowled out for just 198, with Hasan Mahmud providing the star turn with figures of 6/55.
If not for former captain Steve Smith’s 71, things could have been even worse. But it was not a flawless innings by any means. He struggled all through, and then he was given not out off a review. It happened in the 21st over, bowled by Ebadot Hossain. The delivery took the edge of Smith’s bat and went through to the keeper, Litton Das. Celebrations ensued, but the umpire said no, after which Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto went for a review. To everyone’s surprise, there was no edge as per the DRS.
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After the day’s play, Smith, who was on 7 at the time, admitted he had nicked it. “I think so, yeah,” the Aussie batter said when he was asked about that. “I was lucky? Yeah, it seems that way. You’ve got to take it sometimes.
“Normally, it’s [the DRS] pretty good. Maybe I didn’t nick it. I don’t know. But I certainly felt something. If I’d been given out, I was going to walk off. But yeah, technology saved me today, I guess.”
Heavy build-up but then…
In the lead-up to this game, Australia’s first Test since the Ashes in January, there was a massive build-up. With the Aussies set to play a whole lot of five-day games in the coming months, including a 150-year rivalry commemorative Test against England in March, Cricket Australia wanted a solid start to the upcoming busy run, and that’s why they picked a high-quality squad for the Bangladesh Tests to set the tone. However, the team’s performance on the field of play on Thursday was way below their high standards. At the close of play, Bangladesh had reached 96/1, putting themselves into a match-winning position.
Anyway, going back to Smith, the batsman confessed that it was quite an unusual day at work for him, as very early into his innings, he was dropped in the slips by Tanzid Hasan, again off the bowling of Ebadot. All he had were just two runs next to his name at that time.
“I actually forgot how to hold the bat for my first 30 balls. I’m not going to lie,” he told Fox Cricket.
It may be noted that in the 2025-26 Ashes too, the DRS made the headlines for not being up to scratch. On Friday, Pat Cummins’ men need to regroup big time to save their faces.