Australia responded to last week's shock defeat by bowling Bangladesh out for 64, but their batters failed again on a remarkable 18-wicket first day of the second Test. 

Mitchell Starc ended with figures of 6-12, but Shoriful Islam led Bangladesh's fightback with six wickets of his own as Australia finished 165-8 at stumps and leading by 101 runs. 

Australia made the perfect start when Starc struck with the first ball to remove Shadman Islam, with Tanzid Hasan (0) quickly following him back to the changing rooms. 

Starc's dismantling of Bangladesh continued as he claimed the wickets of Najmul Hossain Shanto (0), Mominul Haque (9) and Litton Das (0) to leave the hosts reeling at 12-5.  

Pat Cummins (3-25) chipped in by dismissing Mushfiqur Rahim (5) and Mehidy Hasan (11), with Starc returning to claim the wicket of tail-ender Shoriful, who top-scored with 14. 

However, Australia quickly found themselves 50-3 in their innings as Matt Renshaw (8), Travis Head (22) and Marnus Labuschagne (4) all fell inside the opening eight overs. 

Steve Smith (42) and Cameron Green (51 not out) built a recovery with a partnership of 77, but after the former was bowled lbw by Shoriful, Australia lost another four wickets for just 30 runs, with Shoriful taking three of those to end with figures of 6-35.

Day two is a sell out! #AUSvBAN pic.twitter.com/cU5JxyeDma

— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) August 22, 2026

Sensational Starc moves into top 10 but Shoriful helps Bangladesh recover

After being thrashed by nine wickets in the first Test, Australia will have felt they put themselves in a strong position after a destructive bowling display that saw Bangladesh skittled out for their fourth-lowest total in Test cricket. 

Starc has now taken at least six wickets against seven of the eight nations he has faced in the format, with his latest set of removals seeing him move above South Africa great Dale Steyn and into 10th on the all-time Test wicket-takers list with 441.

In fact, it only took Starc 22 balls to complete his five-for, the sixth-fastest in the format, with the Australian holding the record having taken five wickets in just 15 deliveries against the West Indies in 2025. 

But you cannot ignore Shoriful's impressive display. Along with Starc, they became the fourth pair to take six-wicket hauls on the first day of a men's Test after Sydney Barnes and Monty Noble in Melbourne in 1902, Aubrey Faulkner and Colin Blythe at Leeds in 1907, and Frank Worrell and Bill Johnston in Adelaide in 1951.

Starc and Shoriful also recorded only the third instance of two left-arm pacers taking six-wicket hauls in the same men's Test. Alan Davidson and Brian Statham were the previous such pair, having done so in Melbourne in 1958-59.