Not wise to overcriticise or overpraise, Bangladesh crash against Australia highlights importance of match conditions

We fans have an extraordinary tendency to play up the success of the underdogs. Earlier this week, when Bangladesh beat Australia in the first Test in their own backyard in Darwin, not only the Bangladeshi media and fans went wild with their celebrations and paeans but the global media was also gleeful, especially those in England. Having been thrashed by Ireland and England in white-ball cricket recently, the Indians, too, felt good about the Bangladeshi triumph.

Of course, one can’t take away the credit from Bangladesh for beating Australia in the first Test. Beating the Aussies anywhere in the world is a big deal. Even in Bangladesh, that would be massive news. But the factor that most likely helped the visitors win the first Test in Darwin was the conditions there. The hosts laid out a lovely batting track over there, and the weather was also on the warm side. Basically, Bangladesh were pretty much at home in Darwin, and then the Aussies batted really badly to give them a sniff. Then Test cricket had returned to Darwin after a gap of 22 years, so, in a manner of speaking, the Aussies were themselves in not-so-familiar conditions.

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But in the second Test today, the conditions in South MacKay -- hosting its first Test ever -- were totally different. Yes, it was also a not-so-familiar ground for the Aussies, who normally play Test matches in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane but what made the difference was the pitch, pretty much like the bouncy one at Gabba. On the eve of the match, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto admitted the challenge of extra bounce was awaiting them but he felt confident, high on the win from the first Test. But despite all that, they came unstuck as Mitchell Starc ran through them in the opening session of the day after the home side won the toss and decided to have a field -- rightly so.

The visitors could only post 64 with Starc taking six wickets. It was a poor batting show to all intents and purposes. In Darwin, they had posted 426 in reply to Australia 198. So, just in a matter of days, they experienced the ridiculous after the sublime. Australia did struggle too in their reply, but despite that, at the end of the day, they were 165/8 with a lead of 101 runs. In the context of the match, that’s a very big lead. Tomorrow it’s only day two, meaning the pitch will continue to be terrible. So, there are no prizes for guessing as to who is going to win this game. Of course, it’s cricket, anything can happen. Bangladesh can still stage a comeback. They are a good team and have played some nice cricket recently. They beat Pakistan in both games at home before losing in Zimbabwe in the one-off Test, on another bouncy wicket.

Anyway, day one at South Mackay has proved one thing: it’s very often the conditions that make the difference, not so much skill. So sometimes it is wise not to overcriticise or overpraise a cricket team. Having said that, the home side really needs a few new batsmen who can bat in the typical, scary Aussie way.