Australia captain Pat Cummins admitted his side were outplayed in all departments after Bangladesh completed a historic nine-wicket victory in the first Test at Darwin's Marrara Oval on Sunday. The defeat gave Bangladesh their first Test win on Australian soil and only their second victory over Australia, following their maiden triumph in Dhaka in 2017.
Cummins pointed to Australia's first-innings performance as the key turning point, conceding that his side needed to find a way to bat for longer after Bangladesh's bowlers made early inroads. "Probably that day one. You know, I thought our preparation was pretty much spot on. I thought it was excellent. So, no excuses. They played really well. I thought the day one wicket was doing a little bit early, but obviously got to try and find a way to bat a little bit longer than we did, and then, just couldn't penetrate with the ball," Cummins said after the match. Australia were dismissed for 198 in their first innings after Cummins won the toss and elected to bat. Bangladesh responded with 426, taking a commanding 228-run lead that ultimately proved decisive. The hosts showed more resistance in their second innings, reaching 284, with Cameron Green scoring a century. However, Mehidy Hasan Miraz's five-wicket haul helped Bangladesh restrict Australia's lead to just 56 runs before the visitors chased down the target in 14.2 overs. Cummins acknowledged that Bangladesh maintained control once they had established their advantage. "Yeah, they did. I think they outplayed us in all facets, really. I thought they were really patient and quite disciplined. And, yeah, once we were behind, it was really hard to get back," he said. The Australian captain also admitted that the team's batting performances could come under scrutiny before the second Test in Mackay, Queensland, beginning on August 22. "I think every time there's a game like this, you always kind of look at your match-ups and your make-up of the team for the next one. But, we only just finished, so we'll have a think about it. We're pretty good at bouncing back, so no doubt the batters and every group will get together and have a good think about this one and where we can improve," Cummins said. While Australia's batting came under pressure, Cummins praised Josh Hazlewood for reaching the milestone of 300 Test wickets. Hazlewood finished with six wickets across Bangladesh's two innings. "Josh, he hasn't had a great run for injuries the last couple of years, but he's one of the hardest workers and just showed his class. And, you know, didn't have too much in it, seam-wise, still picking up six really important wickets. So he was fantastic," Cummins said. He also singled out Green, whose 104 was his third Test century and first in Australia. The allrounder spent 201 balls at the crease and combined with Australia's lower order to prevent Bangladesh from winning by an innings. "And then Greeny, again, I thought, the tempo of this innings showed how good he is. Yeah, just needed a couple of us to hang around with him, but it was fantastic," Cummins said. Green's resistance eventually ended when Hasan Mahmud bowled him for 104, leaving Bangladesh with a modest target. Shadman Islam and Mominul Haque remained unbeaten to complete the chase. The result puts Australia under pressure ahead of the second Test, while Bangladesh will take considerable confidence from a victory that ranks among their biggest achievements in Test cricket.