No Excuses, Few Answers: Pat Cummins Concedes Australia Were Outplayed in Darwin

Pat Cummins offered no excuses. There were none available.

Australia had been dismissed cheaply, blunted with the ball and beaten by nine wickets on home soil by a team that had never previously won a Test in the country.

Bangladesh had outbatted them. Outbowled them. Outlasted them. “They outplayed us in all departments,” Cummins conceded after Australia’s chastening defeat in the first Test in Darwin. “They were patient and disciplined.”

Australia’s collapse began on the opening day and never truly stopped. Bowled out for 198, the hosts handed Bangladesh control of the Test before their bowlers had a chance to influence it.

Cummins insisted the preparation had been “spot on”. The performance was not. “Probably that day one,” he said when asked where the Test had slipped away. “No excuses. They played well. We had to find a way to bat longer, and then we couldn’t penetrate with the ball.” That inability to penetrate proved as costly as Australia’s batting failure.

Bangladesh responded to Australia’s 198 with 426, powered by Tanzid Hasan’s maiden Test century. Najmul Hossain Shanto scored 84 and Mehidy Hasan Miraz added 65 as the visitors converted their advantage into a commanding 228-run lead.

Josh Hazlewood fought almost alone, taking 6/89. Around him, Australia struggled to break partnerships or generate sustained pressure.

The Test had already moved beyond their control. Australia showed greater resistance in the second innings, but once again failed to build the partnerships required to save the match. Cameron Green struck a defiant 104 and Steve Smith added 44, yet the hosts were dismissed for 284.

Green gave Australia a chance to drag the contest deeper. Nobody stayed with him long enough to make it count. “Green’s tempo showed how good he is,” Cummins said. “He needed a couple of us to hang in with him.” Mehidy dismantled the resistance with 5/56, while first-innings destroyer Hasan Mahmud added 3/66 to his six-wicket haul. Bangladesh were left needing only 57. They chased it with nine wickets intact. Mominul Haque finished unbeaten on 30 and Shadman Islam made 25 not out as Bangladesh completed their first Test victory in Australia and took a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

For Australia, the scorecard exposed failures in every phase. Their batters could not survive long enough. Their bowlers could not prevent Bangladesh from reaching 426. Even Green’s century and Hazlewood’s six wickets became individual acts of resistance in a collective defeat.

Cummins backed Hazlewood, who has battled injuries, calling him one of the team’s hardest workers. He also promised a review of Australia’s batting approach and individual match-ups before the second Test. “We’ve just finished the game, so we’ll think about it,” he said. “We’re pretty good at bouncing back.”

Australia will need to be. The defeat was historic for Bangladesh. For Cummins and his men, it was history of a very different kind: their first home Test loss to Bangladesh, delivered by nine wickets and without a single department they could claim to have won.

(With inputs from ANI)