Bangladesh captain Shanto says pace focus reaping rewards after Australia breakthrough

MELBOURNE: Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said the nation’s belated focus on pace is yielding rewards after the South Asian underdogs pulled off a seismic upset of Pat Cummins’ top-ranked Australia on Sunday.

Bangladesh recorded their first test win in ‌Australia and one of their finest victories ever in the longest format, thrashing the hosts by nine wickets on day four of the series opener in Darwin.

The tourists were missing leading quicks Nahid Rana and Shoriful Islam to injury but managed to bowl Australia out for 198 in the first innings, with all 10 wickets falling to pace ⁠at Marrara Oval.

Shanto said there had been a mindset shift among the nation’s young fast bowlers.

“Earlier, five years ago, pacers didn’t want to play tests,” Shanto said pitch-side.

“But we’ve been playing lots of test cricket and they are giving imhttps://arynews.tv/rampant-bangladesh-seal-first-ever-test-win-in-australiaportance to test format.

“They want to play, want to perform, want to be world-class. That is the mindset they now have.

“Seniors like Mushfiqur (Rahim) and Mominul (Haque) have encouraged them to play more test cricket.”

Bangladesh’s 26-year-old fast bowler Hasan Mahmud earned the Player of the Match award after taking nine wickets, including 6-55 in the ‌first ⁠innings on a docile pitch.

Mahmud said Bangladesh believed in themselves, despite a shaky buildup that included being bowled out for 54 in a practice match just over a week ago against a Cricket Australia XI.

“We got some team plans with the coaches, watching videos, and that’s what we did at the ⁠ground,” he said of plans for each Australian batter.

“The bowlers were patient, they stuck on the line and length. Results came.”

On their first test tour of Australia in 23 years, Bangladesh will head to ⁠the second and final match in Mackay, Queensland, hoping to seal their first test series win over the Australians.

“Going forward, we want to do something special in the future,” said ⁠Shanto.

“We have to play five days of good cricket, and I’m going to say the same thing: If we play session by session, if the lower order keeps chipping in, those are the things.”