‘We weren’t able to catch’: Steve Smith admits Australia were ‘outplayed’ after historic Bangladesh defeat
Bangladesh produced a historic performance in Darwin, defeating Australia by nine wickets in the first Test to secure their first-ever Test victory on Australian soil. The defeat brought Australia’s long run of consistency under scrutiny, but Steve Smith was quick to acknowledge Bangladesh’s superior performance while insisting that one poor Test does not change Australia’s status as the world’s top-ranked Test side.“Pretty simple: we were outplayed. I thought Bangladesh bowled really well the first morning, really disciplined. Our batters probably weren’t disciplined enough,” Smith said after the defeat, as quoted by The Daily Star.
Smith admits Australia failed to build partnerships
Australia struggled with the bat across both innings. After being bowled out for 198 in their first innings, they were forced to concede a massive 228-run lead after Bangladesh piled up 426. Smith, who scored 71 in the first innings, admitted that Australia failed to capitalise when their batters got starts.“They got too many in front, and we weren’t able to catch it up yesterday on what was a pretty decent wicket to bat on. A couple of us got starts and didn’t go on with it. Greeny, I thought, played really nicely to get a hundred, but he didn’t have any partners to go with him,” he said.Cameron Green provided Australia with some resistance in the second innings, scoring a fighting 104, but the hosts were eventually dismissed for 284. Bangladesh were left with only 57 runs to chase for victory.
‘We’re the number one team for a reason’
Despite the heavy defeat, Smith backed Australia to bounce back and urged the team not to overreact to what he described as a poor week.“I hope it’s one bad week. We’re the number one team for a reason. We’ve played really good, consistent cricket over a long period of time, and this week was a bit of a blip,” Smith said.The experienced batter also gave full credit to Bangladesh for their performance throughout the four-day contest.“We could have done things a lot better, but credit goes to them for the way they played throughout these last four days,” he added.
How Bangladesh scripted history in Darwin
Australia were bowled out for 198 after Hasan Mahmud’s stunning 6/55, before Bangladesh piled on 426, led by centuries from Tanzid Hasan and strong knocks from Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Josh Hazlewood took six wickets and reached 300 Test wickets.Cameron Green’s 104 helped Australia fight back in the second innings, but Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s 5/66 and Hasan Mahmud’s three wickets restricted them to 284.Chasing 57, Bangladesh reached the target in just 14.2 overs, winning by nine wickets to secure their first-ever Test victory on Australian soil. Hasan Mahmud was named Player of the Match.
