டெலிபோன் மணி போல் சிரிப்பவள் ~ Bangladesh down under !!

 

டெலிபோன் மணி போல் சிரிப்பவள் இவளா....

மெல்போர்ன் மலர் போல் மெல்லிய மகளா....

டிஜிட்டலில் செதுக்கிய குரலா எலிசபெத் டெய்லர் மகளா

சாகிர் ஹுசைன் தபலா இவள்தானா.... சோனா.. சோனா..

Likely that song rings a bell and you imagine seeing Kamal & Manisha Koiralla dancing !!  and start thinking of Australia.

For Cricket fans – if it’s a 5 test match series [especially Ashes] – tests would take place, at WACA, Perth;  Melbourne; Sydney; Gabba, Brisbane & Adelaide. Traditionally the Boxing day test on 26^th Dec would be played at Melbourne.  

Likely you are following Bangladesh tour of Australia and the improbable win that happened in First test.

Bangladesh's bowling has been their most impressive department in the last five years. It was time that their batting stepped up on the big occasion. And step up they did in the historic win in Darwin, which will be remembered as much for the contributions by Bangladesh's batters as their bowlers. Bangladesh were playing their first Test in Australia in 23 years, and in it, thoroughly outplayed the hosts for a nine-wicket win.

Bangladesh's 426 in the first Test, batting out 138 overs, was their third-longest innings outside the subcontinent. It underlined their domination after the Bangladesh bowling attack had dismissed Australia for 198 on the first day. The batters secured a 228-run lead to set Australia back further; the hosts couldn't cross 300 in their second innings either, and the target of 57 they set became a mere formality.

Australia have the best pace attack in the world, even if an ageing one, with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. Batting against them, the Bangladesh line-up continuously took good decisions, led by a century from opener Tanzid Hasan, and fifties from captain Najmul Hossain Shanto as well as Mehidy Hasan Miraz.  .. and it was a historic 9 wicket win for Bangla.   It was their first Test win in Australia in only their third attempt, although they were playing a Test in the country for the first time in 23 years. Bangladesh had beaten Australia in a Test at home nine years ago.   

The win is a huge moment for Bangladesh, especially in a year when they missed the T20 World Cup for political reasons.  Hasan Mahmud taking nine wickets in the match, and Tanzid Hasan scoring his maiden century was complemented by Mehidy Hasan Miraz's half-century and five-wicket haul later in the game. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto starred with the bat, and as a captain too.

Now Aussies have made a strong comeback ..  bouncing back and leveling the Test Series with an innings-and-51-run win in under two days. Mitchell Starc led the onslaught with his fourth 10-wicket haul which made it the second-shortest Test on Australian soil.  Starc finished with 10 for 51, as Nathan Lyon wrapped up Bangladesh with two quick wickets shortly after tea. Having being bundled for 64 and 95, it became the first time Bangladesh got bowled out for under 100 in both innings of a Test, while Australia's 210 is the fourth-lowest total in an innings win.  Shoriful grabbed career-best figures of 7 for 47 in a match that will otherwise be remembered for Starc's haul that made it an otherwise forgettable game for Bangladesh.

On a different note, the way Bangladesh are treated – the tests are not played at Brisband, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne or any other centres.  References to the Gabba, which will be demolished after the 2032 Olympics, had never been far away as Great Barrier Reef Arena became the 12th venue to host men's Tests in Australia

The first test was played at Marrara Stadium, Darwin -  (known under naming rights as TIO Stadium),  a multi-purpose stadium in the Darwin suburb of Marrara. Darwin   is the capital and largest city of the Northern Territory, Australia.  Lieutenant John Lort Stokes of HMS Beagle was the first British person to encounter Darwin harbour on 9 September 1839, 51 years after the first European settlement of Australia. The ship's captain, Commander John Clements Wickham, named the port after Charles Darwin, the English naturalist who had sailed with them both on the earlier second expedition of the Beagle

This second test which Bangla lost badly was played at - Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, a multi-sports complex located in the Queensland city of Mackay. It includes multiple ovals for Australian rules football and cricket, and facilities for athletics, tennis, croquet, basketball and table tennis.  Harrup Park was owned and developed by the Mackay Cricket Association in the 1940s. It was named after Mr A. L. Harrup, the president of the association at the time, and the main ground was named after the vice-president, Ray Mitchell, who was also one of the people who bought the land for the development.  Mackay   is a city in the Mackay Region on the eastern or Coral Sea coast of Queensland, Australia

Bangladesh's prospects had taken a big dent in their first tour game after they were rolled for just 54 to lose by an innings and 38 runs against a CA XI in Darwin with left-arm quick Campbell Thompson claiming 8 for 25.

The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy gun", "Chicago typewriter", or "trench broom") is a blowback-operated, selective-fire submachine gun invented and developed by Brigadier General John T. Thompson, a United States Army officer, in 1918. It was designed to break the stalemate of trench warfare of World War I, although early models did not arrive in time for actual combat. The weapon was also sold to the general public. Because it was so widely used by criminals, the Thompson became notorious during the Prohibition era as the signature weapon of various organized crime syndicates in the United States in the 1920s

Now the song at the start ‘Telephone manipol’ from Indian movie was a red herring, though it mentioned ‘melbourne’ – the one that appears in view is famous Sydney Harbour Bridge.  

Regards – S Sampathkumar
23.8.2026