For the second time in the match, Steve Smith has held Australia’s innings and kept the hosts alive in the AUS vs BAN 1st Test.
In Darwin this week, Bangladesh have taken a giant step over the first three days of their first Test series in Australia since 2003.
The hosts were bowled out for only 198 runs on day 1 after skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat first on a surface that was said to have a covering of lively grass, and the ball nipped around a bit in the first couple of sessions. While Smith top-scored with 71, no other Aussie batter managed more than 25.
Pacer Hasan Mahmud picked six wickets to seal his Test career’s third five-wicket haul, the previous two coming in Chennai and Rawalpindi.
Bangladesh proved that there were no alarming signs in the pitch as they piled up 426 runs in their first innings to end up with a significant – and potentially match-winning – lead of 228 runs.
Opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim rode on his two reprieves to amass a memorable century. Mominul Haque (49), Najmul Hossain Shanto (84), and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (65) made important contributions as well to take the visitors past 400, solidifying their hope of a historic maiden Test match victory down under.
Bangladesh’s hopes and belief only kept growing in Australia’s second innings as the Aussie top three of Travis Head, Jake Weatherald, and Marnus Labuschagne were back in the dressing room for the score of 73 runs. Smith, though, remained steadfast and stood like a rock against the Bangladeshi bowlers.
Bangladesh almost had Smith on one occasion when he seemingly edged a full delivery from speedster Ebadot Hossain while attempting an expansive drive. The ball was caught safely by wicket-keeper Liton Das, and all of the Bangladeshi players began celebrating, and so did their fans in the stadium.
Smith, however, knew – and only he knew – that he had not edged it and had missed the ball while driving and, indeed, had brushed his bat on the pitch.
Seeing the Bangladeshi cricketers run off in celebration and the fact that there had been a sound, Smith was certain that umpire Kumar Dharmasena would give him out, which Dharmasena did.
However, even before the umpire raised his finger, Smith had signaled for the DRS review! It was proved on the DRS, as Smith’s confidence also suggested, that he hadn’t nicked the ball and had missed it and the noise came off his bat hitting the pitch.
This made for a hilarious moment in the commentary box, as everyone just admired Smith’s game awareness and sense of his own batting.
AUS vs BAN 1st Test: Steve Smith Takes A DRS Review Even Before Umpire Gives Out Signal, Video
Meanwhile, Bangladesh have gotten their biggest roadblock out of their way before stumps today as Smith gave a return catch to off-spinner Miraz, departing for 44. At the time of writing, Australia are 4 wickets down and still trail by 101 runs. Bangladesh can now start to envision what could be an epic victory in the longest format against the No. 1 ranked ICC Test team in the world on their own soil.
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