Bangladesh Brought Back to Reality - 64 All Out
What followed was one of the most destructive opening spells in modern Test cricket:
Lightning Five-For: Starc secured a five-wicket haul in just 22 deliveries—the sixth-fastest five-fer in Test history.
Top-Order Ducks: Four of Bangladesh's top six batters—Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, and Litton Das—were dismissed for 0, all falling to Starc as Bangladesh collapsed to 12/5.
Bowling Figures: Starc finished with 6 for 12 in 10 overs. Pat Cummins chipped in with 3/25, and Josh Hazlewood took 1/18.
Lone Resistance: No. 11 batter Shoriful Islam finished as the top scorer of the innings with 14 runs.
Bangladesh batted a total of 34 overs. This was a one-off because Bangladesh are a far better team than this score. They will need to bat out of their skins in the second innings to avoid defeat in this test match.
Historical Milestones
Starc's fiery spell pushed his career tally to 440 Test wickets, officially surpassing South African legend Dale Steyn (439) to enter the top 10 all-time Test wicket-takers.
While Bangladesh demonstrated immense composure during their victory in Darwin, this First-Innings collapse highlights the stark challenge of back-to-back Tests in Australian conditions. With Australia fighting to equalize the series and claim vital World Test Championship points, Bangladesh faces a steep uphill battle in the remainder of the match.
