Ending a 23-year-old drought on Australian soil, Bangladesh scripted history at the Marrara Oval in Darwin. Maintaining complete dominance over hosts Australia across five consecutive sessions, the Tigers accumulated 286 for 3 at the end of the second session (5th session overall) on Day 2, securing a solid 88-run lead in the first innings.
At the center of this historic performance on Friday (August 14) was young opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim, who registered his maiden Test century—becoming the first-ever Bangladeshi batter to score a Test hundred in Australia.
Resuming the day at 96 for 1, overnight batters Mominul Haque and Tanzid Tamim laid a strong foundation with a 102-run partnership for the second wicket. Mominul was unfortunately dismissed for 49, falling just short of breaking the historic 108-run partnership record set by Habibul Bashar and Hannan Sarkar in 2003.
Following Mominul’s departure, skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto joined Tanzid to steady the innings. Through disciplined batting, Bangladesh eclipsed Australia’s first-innings total with eight wickets still in hand. In the 64th over, Tanzid reached his dream maiden Test hundred. However, in the 66th over, he was caught by Mitchell Starc at long-off off Nathan Lyon’s bowling, walking back for a well-crafted 101.
After Tanzid’s exit, the blend of youth and experience took over as Captain Shanto (79*) and veteran Mushfiqur Rahim (26*) remained unbeaten, guiding Bangladesh to a valuable 88-run lead by the tea break.
