Bangladesh enjoyed an incredible day on the opening day of their first Test against Australia at the Marrara Stadium in Darwin today.
At stumps, the Tigers were comfortably in the driving seat at 96 for one after bowling out a full-strength Australia for 198.
The visitors trail by just 102 runs with nine wickets in hand, and could have been in an even stronger position had a couple of early opportunities gone their way.
Experienced Steve Smith was the only Australian batter to pose any real threat to the Bangladesh pacers -- but even by his own admission, his fighting 71-run innings could have been cut short.
With the hosts at 68 for three, Smith was batting on seven off 23 deliveries when Bangladesh wasted a review on him. In the fourth delivery of the 21st over, pacer Ebadot Hossain beat Smith with a fifth-stump delivery that enticed the right-hander to poke at it before the ball went through to the wicketkeeper.
The Bangladesh players thought they had their man and went for a review after the on-field umpire turned down their appeal.
However, Real Time Snicko picked up no disturbance, meaning the on-field decision stayed and Smith survived in the early stages of his innings.
But when asked during the post-day press conference if he had nicked the ball, Smith admitted: “I think so, yeah.”
The batter also felt he was lucky to get away with it.
"Did you nick that?"
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) August 13, 2026
"I think so, yeah."
Watch Steve Smith's full press conference after day one of #AUSvBAN: https://t.co/UPFVhNe5II pic.twitter.com/hzoOHz4xVR
“I was lucky? Seems that way, yeah. You’ve got to take it sometimes,” he added.
Asked about his trust in technology, Smith replied: “Normally it is pretty good. Maybe I did not nick it, I don’t know. But I certainly felt something. If I’d been given out, I was gonna walk off. But yeah, technology saved me today, I guess.”
Ebadot had also come close to dismissing Smith when he was on just two, but a dropped catch by Tanzid Tamim allowed the right-hander to survive.
Although Smith made the most of those early scares to notch his 45th Test fifty, he could only help Australia to a modest first-innings total, thanks to a superb overall fast-bowling display by the Tigers.
Hasan Mahmud led the charge, finishing with career-best figures of six for 55 and becoming the first Bangladeshi bowler to claim a Test five-wicket haul in Australia. Fittingly, it was Hasan who accounted for Smith early in the third session, making him his fifth victim of the day.
