Bangladesh conquers Australian fortress before India and Pakistan
- 4 Subcontinental Teams in Australia
- India: 57 Tests – 10 wins, 33 losses, 14 draws
- Pakistan: 40 Tests – 4 wins, 29 losses, 7 draws
- Sri Lanka: 15 Tests – 0 wins, 13 losses, 2 draws
- Bangladesh: 3 Tests – 1 win, 2 losses, 0 draws
Collected Photo
"Tigers at home, (house) cats abroad." This is the reputation that haunts subcontinental cricket teams. They spin a web on the slow pitches at home, leaving opponents dizzy. Bangladesh, however, takes it a step further, turning Mirpur's black-soil wickets into literal 'paddy fields.' But outside the subcontinent, on bouncy tracks, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh often gasp for breath against pace bowling.
In Australia, this struggle is even more pronounced. So much so that Sri Lanka, despite winning a World Cup, have never won a Test on Australian soil! They have played 15 Tests, lost 13, and drawn 2—their last draw coming in 2004.
Pakistan, of course, have won 4 Tests in Australia. However, their last victory came 36 years ago, in 1995—when legends like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Rameez Raja, and Saqlain Mushtaq were part of the team.
Among subcontinental squads, India is the most successful in Australia, with 10 Test wins. But in one specific aspect, Bangladesh has left all these teams behind.
Najmul Hossain Shanto's team won their first-ever Test in Australia in just their third attempt. In 2003, Bangladesh lost the two Tests played in Darwin and Cairns. Twenty-three years later, in that very Darwin, they secured a historic victory today, defeating the hosts by 9 wickets.
India won their first Test in Australia in 1977, which was their 12th Test in that country. In the previous 11 Tests, they had lost 10 and drawn 1. That 222-run victory in Melbourne in 1977, under the leadership of Bishan Singh Bedi, featured stars like Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Chandrasekhar, and Dilip Vengsarkar. Chandrasekhar was the hero of that win, taking 6 wickets in each innings.
Pakistan won their first Test in Australia in January 1977. That was their 7th Test in Australia. In the previous six, they had lost four and drawn two. Pakistan won that Melbourne Test by 8 wickets. Led by Mushtaq Mohammad, the side featured Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal, Javed Miandad, Imran Khan, and Sarfraz Nawaz.
Compared to India and Pakistan, Bangladesh has conquered the Australian fortress much earlier. It has taken Najmul Hossain Shanto's side just 3 Tests to raise the victory flag.
