Michael Clarke congratulates Bangladesh, admits that he didn't expect them to win

Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke congratulated a jubilant Bangladesh side, after Taijul Islam trapped Josh Hazlewood in front, to hand Mushfiqur Rahim’s men their maiden Test victory against the visitors. Clarke was more shocked than astonished after Australia’s defeat but he made it a point to offer due credit where it belongs. Australia needed 156 runs to win, with 8 wickets in hand, on the final day of the 1st Test. But a spectacular show by the hosts and especially by no. 1 all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, earned them a historic win.

This was Bangladesh’s 10th Test match victory in 101 matches. Bangladesh have now beaten Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and England in a Test, over the last 12 months. This is definitely a special feat for a side, whose previous victories came against Zimbabwe and a second string West Indies team.

Skipper Smith praises Bangladesh

“It was a great Test match,” Smith said at the post-match press conference. “Credit to Bangladesh for the way they played in the first innings. We fought back after the Tamim Iqbal-Shakib Al Hasan partnership. We let ourselves down in the first innings. I thought it was pretty difficult to bat in the second innings. The tail helped the batters around – no excuses for us. The practice wickets were fantastic. The wicket spun from the first day, as I said we let ourselves down with the bat in the first innings,” he added.

The skipper also praised opener David Warner, who scored his 2nd hundred in Asia. Warner looked settled in the middle and threatened to take the game away in a lone battle. “Warner has worked very hard, he played particularly well to score a hundred. It is one of those wickets where you are never really in. We were not able to stick to our game plan as long as we could in the first innings. Looking forward to the second game in Chittagong,” Smith concluded.