Bangladesh vs Australia 2017: 5 reasons why Bangladesh can humble Australia

We are only a day away before the first of the two Tests at Dhaka takes place between hosts Bangladesh and Australia. This will be Australia’s first series in Bangladesh since 2011 and also the first Test series between Australia and Bangladesh since 2006.

Last time both these teams met, Australia won the series 2-0. However, it wasn’t an easy journey for them as Bangladesh gave them a tough fight in the first Test at Fatullah. Australia comprehensively won the second Test at Chittagong by an innings and 80 runs, though.

This time, Australia will definitely be the overwhelming favourites but Bangladesh Cricket has evolved a lot over the years and should definitely not be taken lightly because the former minnows are now more than a challenge to the most powerful cricket teams of the world.

Here are five reasons why Bangladesh can beat Australia in the Test series.

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#5 Home advantage

In the past couple of years, Bangladesh have established themselves to be just as good as the other “Big Guns” in ODI and T20 cricket. Even in Tests, Bangladesh’s performance has been pretty decent, especially at home.

In the last four years, Bangladesh have lost only 3 out of 14 home Test matches, winning four and drawing the other 7. Bangladesh’s four Test wins include a whitewash against Zimbabwe in 2014 and a memorable 108-run win against England at Chittagong last year.

Besides, Australia’s performances in Asia haven’t been very impressive lately as they have won only two Tests in the continent over the last 9 years. The Aussies also haven’t visited Bangladesh since 2011 and the team has changed a lot since then, so Bangladesh will be banking on home advantage to perform strongly against the men from down under.

#4 Recent performances against strong teams

Bangladesh have humbled England and Sri Lanka in the past 10 months

Bangladesh have produced some really impressive performances against the strongest teams of the sport in all formats of the sport. In Tests, Bangladesh’s performances have improved immensely. While they have whitewashed Zimbabwe 3-0 in 2014, they have also produced some pretty wonderful performances against the bigger nations.

The Tigers managed to draw the home Test series against New Zealand and South Africa in 2013 and 2015 respectively. However, few of their finest Test performances came in the last 10 months when Bangladesh nearly defeated England in a Test match at Chittagong only to narrowly lose by 22 runs.

This was followed by a historic win for Bangladesh against England at Dhaka by 108 runs thanks to some sensational bowling from Mehedi Hasan Miraz who took 6 wickets in both innings.

A few months later, Bangladesh played Sri Lanka at Sri Lanka where the hosts defeated the Tigers by 259 runs in the first Test at Galle. However, the visitors rebounded brilliantly by defeating Sri Lanka by 4 wickets in the second Test at Colombo, thus registering their first away win since winning in West Indies in 2009.

Bangladesh will definitely take inspiration from these sensational performances and look forward to replicating those performances so that they can push the Aussies.

#3 A balanced team at their disposal

Bangladesh have a team that can give Australia a run for their money

Bangladesh should be pretty confident ahead of their Test series against Australia as they have a quite strong side which has helped them witness some of the finest moments in their cricketing history. The Bangladesh squad to face Australia consists of 12 players from the squad that defeated Sri Lanka in their own backyard including 10 from the playing XI of that particular Test.

The team also contains 11 members from the squad that reached the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy. In Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, and Soumya Sarkar, Bangladesh have a very reliable top-order who are capable of providing solid starts. In Shakib al Hasan and Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Bangladesh have two incredible spinners who are more than capable of performing with the bat, especially the former who is regarded as the best all-rounder in the sport today.

The likes of Sabbir Rahman, Nassir Hossain, and Mosaddek Hossain are pretty efficient middle-order batsmen who can perform with the ball as well and in Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh have an experienced and reliable leader and wicket-keeper. Bangladesh’s tail consists of Taijul Islam who is a pretty handy spinner and the likes of Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, and Taskin Ahmed are pacers on whom the Tigers can rely to get them early breakthroughs.

#2 A strong bowling unit

Bangladesh have a pretty formidable bowling unit

Bangladesh have a strong batting department without a shadow of a doubt but the Tigers will be heavily relying on their bowling as well which consists of a lot of talented players. The experienced Shakib al Hasan already brings a lot into the spin department and Bangladesh have two other brilliant spinners in Taijul Islam and Mehedi Hasan Miraz.

The 25-year old Taijul Islam has already taken three five-wicket hauls in eight Tests that include the best bowling figures by a Bangladesh bowler of 8/39 against Zimbabwe in 2014. Islam’s spell is also the third best spell by a left-arm bowler in Tests. The 19-year old Mehedi Hasan Miraz took the cricketing world by storm through his two six-wicket spells in both innings against England at Dhaka last year.

Bangladesh’s fast bowling unit is also quite formidable with the likes of Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman, both of whom are capable of taking a lot of wickets. Hence, Bangladesh have a good enough bowling attack on paper which can easily give the likes of Smith, Warner, and Maxwell a tough time.

#1 Shakib al Hasan

The best all-rounder in the game has been in terrific form lately

One of the biggest reasons why Bangladesh are considered a strong team today is the performance of Shakib al Hasan. Currently captain of the T20 team, Shakib has nearly 3500 runs in Test cricket at an average of 40.92 with 21 fifties and 5 hundreds including a double hundred. With the ball, Shakib has taken 176 wickets at an average of 33.04 with 15 five-wicket hauls.

He is currently ranked the top all-rounder in all formats of the sport, and has produced numerous brilliant performances for Bangladesh lately with both bat and ball. The 30-year old played a crucial role in Bangladesh defeating England at Dhaka where he took 4/49 when England were chasing 273.

Following the England series, Shakib scored a mammoth 217 from 276 deliveries against New Zealand at Christchurch in an innings that constituted 31 boundaries. Shakib al Hasan then produced another spectacular performance during the series against Sri Lanka, taking three wickets at the first Test at Galle which was followed by a wonderful 116 in the second innings of the second Test in addition to a spell of 4/74.

It helped Bangladesh restrict the hosts to 319 in the second innings which meant a target of 191 for Bangladesh to chase down, which they did. Shakib was eventually adjudged the Player of the Series.

Shakib is easily Bangladesh’s talisman coming to the series and he will be expected to create a big impact throughout the series with both bat and ball.