Australia level ICC series with two-day innings win
Australia leveled their two-match ICC Test series against Bangladesh with an innings-and-51-run win in Mackay on day two, as Mitchell Starc claimed a 10-wicket haul and the visitors collapsed for 64 and 95. The result answered Australia's Darwin loss and produced one of the shortest Tests played in the country.
Key Takeaways
- Australia won by an innings and 51 runs after Bangladesh made 64 and 95 against Australia's 210.
- Mitchell Starc took 10 wickets in the match (best home figures 10-51) and was named player of the match and series.
- The 750-ball contest was among the shortest Tests staged in Australia in nearly a century.
- The two-match series finished 1-1 after Bangladesh's nine-wicket win in Darwin.
What happened in the AUS vs BAN second Test?
On day two at Great Barrier Reef Stadium in Mackay, Australia wrapped up victory after Bangladesh added only 95 in their second innings. Australia had resumed with a 101-run lead and were all out for 210, with Cameron Green top-scoring on 67.
Starc took four second-innings wickets to finish with 10-51, while Pat Cummins claimed 3-10 and Nathan Lyon 3-25, including the final two wickets after tea. According to Cricket Australia's match report, Bangladesh were skittled for double figures twice in the same Test for the first time any side had done so in 21 years.
Why does this ICC result matter for both sides?
The win restored Australia after their first-Test defeat and leveled the series 1-1. Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said conditions offered extra bounce and swing, and that more frequent tours would help his side improve—not another 23-year wait.
Starc said Australia delivered what they expected with the ball on a pitch that aided them, after acknowledging Bangladesh's strong Darwin performance. Fans following related market-and-alert coverage can also browse BlasterPost Fintech & Crypto Alerts for how big sporting outcomes ripple into betting and digital markets.
How rare was Australia's two-day innings victory?
ESPNcricinfo reported the match as the second-shortest Test ever played in Australia and the fourth-shortest of all time. Cricket Australia noted it finished quicker than last summer's two-day Ashes Tests in Perth and Melbourne and the 2022-23 Gabba Test against South Africa.
Australia's 210 was the lowest total to underpin an innings victory in 80 years, despite Shoriful Islam's 7-48—the best figures by a visiting bowler in Australia since Curtly Ambrose's 7-25 in Perth in 1993. Green again anchored the innings after his 104 in Darwin.
Who stood out with bat and ball?
Starc's match haul included early second-innings strikes, with Mominul Haque out for a golden duck and Litton Das falling for a third straight duck. Lyon ended the contest by dismissing Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam in three balls.
Cummins praised a sharp bounce-back after Darwin and singled out Green's commanding knock. The captains posed with the series trophy after the 1-1 split, closing a fortnight that swung from historic Bangladesh success to an Australian rout in Mackay.