“If you look at the first session of the match, I think the way Hasan, Taskin and Ebadot bowled, that set the tone for this match,” Shanto said. “I think Hasan has been outstanding. He consistently performed before he came here. He performed well in county cricket which he said was similar to conditions here. The fast bowlers are bowling really well in the last few years.
“We also have two quality spinners in Taijul [Islam] and [Mehidy Hasan] Miraz. I thought Miraz used the conditions pretty well, especially in the second innings, and they have their experience. They have played a lot of Test matches and they know their role. So really happy to see them perform.”
“I think the Bangladesh team should be given the Player-of-the-Match trophy. Everyone contributed in some way or other,” Shanto said. “Of course, Tamim’s maiden hundred in only his second Test is always special. Miraz has done this type of performance in the past before. He was just outstanding with bat and ball.
“I was really proud of the way our lower order batted in this game. Hasan, Taijul, Taskin and even Ebadot. We usually don’t get a lot out of their batting so this was a really important contribution in this game. We must give them credit.”.
Coming into this Test, Bangladesh had been bowled out for 54 in their only practice match in Darwin, having suffered an innings defeat in their previous Test against Zimbabwe last month. They were also without Nahid Rana and Shoriful Islam, but Shanto said they didn’t let these factors bother them.
“We didn’t play well in that practice game, but that’s cricket for you. We however treated it as a practice game, we weren’t too down after that game. We spoke about our mistakes, but we were also giving everyone a chance to bat and bowl in that game. We treated it like a proper practice match, but it didn’t reflect a lot in this Test match.
“We also didn’t do well against Zimbabwe, though those were pretty tough conditions. But as I don’t think we lost too much confidence since that game. The players were still in good shape, as we knew that we can turn things around. We also had the 2-0 win against Pakistan in May, in our mind.”
Shanto said the team had spoken of the great opportunity they had on a tour of Australia after 23 years, something that so many of Bangladesh’s cricketers had not experienced. Among Bangladesh’s most seasoned players, only Mushfiqur Rahim has made it to this tour.
“We have to admit that these are tough conditions. They have a world-class batting line-up, a world-class bowling attack. They are a fantastic cricket team,” Shanto said. “But ahead of this tour, we were having a conversation about not getting any opportunity of playing in Australia. Batting well against their bowling line-up, and bowling well to their batters, so we wanted to enjoy doing these things rather than feel worried about the conditions. We accepted the challenge, which showed in the way we adapted and enjoyed in this Test match.”
Shanto said he got a video call from the Bangladesh’s prime minster Tarique Rahman soon after the win and he encouraged the team to celebrate the achievement. “Our honourable prime minister called to congratulate us. Our board president also spoke to us, he is very happy. We also got a call from the home minister. These are special moments for us, as I believe everyone back home is enjoying our success.
“I prefer keeping myself grounded. It is my nature. We should definitely celebrate this win. We get these moments very few times in our life, so we should spend the whole day in celebrating this win.”
Mohammad Isam is Cricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
