Australia vs Bangladesh Test Ends Inside 2 Days, But It's Not The Shortest Game

Mitchell Starc was at his devastating best as Australia completely outclassed Bangladesh to register a commanding victory in the second Test in Mackay on Sunday. After claiming six wickets in the first innings, Starc continued his fiery spell in the second, picking up four more wickets as Australia sealed an innings-and-51-run win. Having opted to bowl first, the hosts bundled Bangladesh out for just 64 before posting 204 in their only innings. Forced to follow on, Bangladesh once again fell victim to Starc's brilliance and were dismissed for 95. Remarkably, the entire match was completed in less than two days.

The match lasted just 750 deliveries in total, making it the fourth-shortest Test in cricket history and the second-shortest ever played on Australian soil. The shortest Test in Australia was the 1932 match against South Africa in Melbourne, which ended in 656 balls. 

The shortest-ever Test match was played between South Africa and India in Cape Town during the 2023-24 tour. The match lasted just 642 balls, with India registering a seven-wicket victory.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh also became the ninth team overall, and the first in 21 years, to be bowled out for 100 in both innings of a Test. The last team to achieve this ignonimous feat was Zimbabwe in 2005, when it was bowled out for 59 and 99 by New Zealand.

Talking about the match, Starc's 10-wicket match haul, backed by three wickets apiece from Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, powered Australia to an innings-and-51-run victory over Bangladesh in Mackay, levelling the series in record time.

Australia's salvation came in the form of a third two-day Test in the past seven in the country, with the weekend victory made possible by a Bangladesh batting unit. Australia got rid of their earlier defeat in Darwin by putting on a massive innings and 51-run total, Bangladesh adding only 95 to their first-innings 64.

A team had not before been all out for double figures twice in a Test match in the twenty-one years up to that point; the bowlers achieved a victory so complete that Australia's attack seemed almost embarrassed during the onslaught on Sunday, which revealed the weakness of Bangladesh on a bouncy yet level wicket, and Travis Head even wrote his name on the boundary of the Great Barrier Reef Arena after the penultimate wicket was dismissed.

Starc was the focus of the demolition effort; after taking six wickets in the first innings he took four more in the second and thus finished with 10-51, which was his best performance in a home Test. Cummins took 3-10 from the same number of overs and Lyon ended with 3-25, including the last two wickets of the match which were obtained from three balls after tea.

(With IANS Inputs)

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Topics mentioned in this article

Australia Cricket Team Bangladesh Cricket Team Mitchell Starc Pat Cummins Nathan Lyon Najmul Hossain Shanto Cricket