Bangladesh have played 31 international matches across all three formats against Australia, winning only two of them: one each in the ODI and Test formats. Bangladesh faced Australia for the first time in 1990. The Tigers defeated the Aussies for the first time in the NatWest series in 2005. Twelve years later, in 2017, Bangladesh beat Australia for the second time, in a Test match at home. Ashraful and Shakib had a big contribution in the two victories.
When Ashraful's 100 Shocked Australia
Bangladesh played six times against Australia before the NatWest series match in 2005 and lost all the matches. So no one had expected that the Tigers would beat mighty Australia. But Bangladesh's first superstar cricketer Mohammad Ashraful had other ideas, especially when Australia's innings ended at 249/5 in 50 overs.
Ashraful walked out to bat when Bangladesh lost two wickets for 51 runs in 15.4 overs. At that point, Australia had a firm grip on the match. But things started to turn in Bangladesh's favour when Ashraful and skipper Habibul Bashar counter-attacked the Australian bowlers and put on a 130-run fourth-wicket stand.
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Habibul Bashar (47) batted well and provided excellent support to Ashraful at the other end. Before falling to Jason Gillespie in the 48th over, Ashraful put on a magnificent 100-run innings that included 11 boundaries. After that, Aftab Ahmed and Mohammad Rafique secured Bangladesh's win in the 50th over.
Shakib leads Bangladesh to a Historic Win
There was a lot of anticipation among the Tigers fans before the two-match Test series between Bangladesh and Australia in 2017. In 2016, Bangladesh had surprised the cricket world with a stunning victory over England.
It was the series-opening Test against a full-strength Australian side at the SBNCS, Mirpur. Bangladesh batted first and scored 260 in their first innings on a slow spinning track. After losing three early wickets in 10 runs, two senior Bangladesh cricketers, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan put up a 155-run stand for the fourth wicket. Tamim scored 71 runs, while Shakib amassed the highest 84 runs.
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When Australia came out to bat, Shakib Al Hasan's superb bowling knocked them out for 217 runs. Shakib took 5 wickets in the first innings, helping his team take a crucial 43-run lead. Bangladesh scored 221 runs in the second innings, with Tamim scoring a vital 78 runs.
The target of 265 runs proved too much for the Australian batsmen; David Warner was the lone fighter. Australia's innings fell apart when Warner departed after a magnificent 112-run knock.
Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade, and David Warner were dismissed by Shakib. Australia were eventually bowled out for 244 runs in the second innings and Bangladesh secured their first Test victory against the Aussies by 20 runs.
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Shakib's all-round performance was the key difference maker in the contest. He took ten wickets in the match and batted well in the first innings.
Bottom Line
Two of the most memorable victories in Bangladesh's cricket history came against Australia. Ashraful and Shakib left Australia stunned in those matches. Bangladesh can also beat Australia again if they can play at their best in the forthcoming T20 series – the one format in which they are yet to do it.