Bangladesh Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was elated with his national team’s first Test win in Australia in three matches. Notably, it is also Bangladesh’s second win over Australia in seven Tests, after the 2017 Mirpur Test victory.
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Shanto highlighted the biggest change in mindset in Bangladesh Test cricket – honing their pace bowling skills rather than relying solely on spin.
“Very happy and proud of myself and the way boys played, really proud of that. And we did a lot of hard work and really happy to win with this side,” Najmul Hossain Shanto said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“Yes, obviously I think that is the biggest change in Bangladesh cricket in the Test format. Normally, five, six years before, the pace bowlers didn’t want to play Test cricket because we didn’t get enough chance to play Test cricket. But last two, three years we’ve been playing a lot of Test matches and boys are getting importance in the Test format. So they now want to play and they want to perform because they want to be world class. So that is the mindset they have there and especially the senior guys we have, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mominul Haque, they help them a lot to encourage to play Test cricket,” he added.
In the first innings, Australia could score only 198 runs as Hasan Mahmud scalped a six-wicket haul. In reply, Bangladesh went on to score 426 runs, taking an exceptional lead. In the third innings, Australia could score only 284 runs. In the chase, Bangladesh sealed the deal in 14.2 overs with nine wickets in hand.
“I think this is the biggest win so far for Bangladesh cricket in any format. We believe that and going forward we will do something special in the future,” he concluded.
