If you are a Test cricket aficionado, a humble cricket lover, or a Sports Management aspirant/professional looking to engage in some of the biggest news from the sporting world, you have just found the biggest one to come out of Darwin.
Darwin is the largest city in the Northern Territory of Australia, one that was host to the 1st test match between Australia and Bangladesh. Now, to an avid cricket lover, this would’ve been a regular run-of-the-mill cricket match where the Aussies roll over their opponent, let alone a team ranked 9th in the ICC Test Rankings. But Bangladesh had other ideas.
In one of the greatest upsets in cricket history, Bangladesh defeated Australia by 9 wickets in a Test match. It is an unprecedented event, one that no one saw coming.
Australia won the toss and elected to bat first, in the most obvious decision of all in Test cricket. But in hindsight, it may have been an error in judgment. The ball was seaming and swinging every which way, and the pitch had so much to offer to bowlers. Australia got off to a good start before losing both their openers and then having their middle order crumble.
Before the end of Day 1, Bangladesh had bowled out Australia for a paltry 198. When Bangladesh came out to bat, the conditions had seemingly improved, and they made full use of it. At the end of Day 1, Australia were bowled out for 198, and Bangladesh were 96-1. But this wasn’t an aberration, and Bangladesh would prove it during the remainder of the Test.
Bangladesh started Day 2 on an equally positive note and went on to amass 426 in their first innings. That meant that Bangladesh now had a lead of 228 runs over Australia in the first innings. Australia were already massively on the back foot. Very few teams in the history of the game had conceded a lead of more than 200 runs in the first innings, and then made a comeback to win the match. And Australia’s attempt would be no different.
Once again, the Bangladeshi bowlers had done their magic, and Australia, though better than their first innings batting, were 161-4 by the end of Day 3, still trailing by 67 runs. The Tigers were on the verge of something historic, and they could smell it from a mile away.
As Day 4 dawned on both teams, the visitors were keen to bowl the home nation out very quickly. They started strong with Alex Carey and Beau Webster sent back to the pavilion cheaply. The Australian captain, Pat Cummins, walked out to the middle in the last hope of overcoming the deficit, setting a solid target for Bangladesh to chase in their last innings. Sadly, he got out before Australia could even cross the ‘innings loss’ mark.
Eventually, Cameron Green stitched an important partnership with Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon for the No. 9 and No. 10 partnership, and scored an important hundred for his team. Australia eventually ended up at 284 in their second innings, but it was too little to stop Bangladesh from creating history.
Bangladesh had to chase a paltry 57 to win their first-ever Test match in Australia. The Tigers did that in 14.2 overs at the loss of only 1 wicket. The wicket was provided by Josh Hazlewood, who has been nothing short of exceptional in this Test match. He has picked up 6 wickets in the first innings as well.
Bangladesh’s win was one for the ages, and one that will excite not only cricket neutrals, but every sports enthusiast. Everybody loves a good underdog story, and it doesn’t get much better than this one. Moreover, there are lessons hidden in this achievement for many professionals, not excluding sports management professionals.
The notion of being written off and still bouncing back, the perennial underdog that nobody expects to win, and then doing the unthinkable, are definitely lessons that should motivate anyone. Bangladesh’s heroic feat will no doubt inspire generations to come, and those working in the sports industry can always look back at this and think that nothing is impossible.
