Smith heaves sigh of relief after winning second Test

Australian skipper finally heaved a huge sigh of relief as he and his side was criticised heavily following the 20-run defeat to Bangladesh in the first Test. With Bangladesh in rampant mood, there was chance for the hosts to inflict a whitewash on the Aussies. However on the back of some superb cricket and strong determination, the visitors bounced back in style to level the series.

There was also the chance to slide to as low as sixth in the ICC Test rankings which could have been their lowest ever in the history. Smith’s side also resisted that even though the slipped one place to fifth position as per the latest rankings. Smith however said it’s pleasing to get over the line as they not only fought against an ever improving Bangladesh but also against scorching heat, intolerable humidity and unkind pitch.

“It was nice to get over the line. It was obviously disappointing after the first Test match to not win there but credit to Bangladesh, I think they played some pretty good cricket throughout this series. It was nice to end with a 1-1 draw,” Smith said.

”We would have much preferred 2-0 but it's nice to get over the line here and have a 1-1 draw. I still think have a lot of improvement in us. We probably let ourselves down at times throughout this Test match. I thought our first-innings bowling was very good to restrict them. Our first-innings batting, obviously the partnership between Petey and Davey was fantastic. And then we got ourselves into one of our collapses that we've had. I think we've had 15 collapses in our last 14 games, our analyst told me yesterday. That's not good enough for an Australian cricket team. That's something we really need to work on. We need to rectify that come the next series and the Ashes.”

This was the first Test series between the two sides since 2006. In between Australia were supposed to tour Bangladesh twice and they postponed it, citing security reasons. However Smith expected to play against Bangladesh more often in future.

“It'd be good. Eleven years is a long time. I think the way they played over here was exceptional. They obviously beat us in the first Test and challenged us again out here. If we get another opportunity to play against them, that'd be great,” he added.

As expectedly Smith showered huge praise on Nathan Lyon and David Warner, the heroes of the series who crushed Bangladesh’s hope of sweeping the series.

“Nathan is magnificent, probably more the first innings than the second innings. The first innings, the wicket really wasn't offering a great deal. I thought the way he just hit that right area, particularly with the new ball, skidding it on and hitting a few guys in front. That was the perfect way to bowl. I'm really proud of him,” he said of Lyon.

Smith heaves sigh of relief after winning second Test

Australian skipper finally heaved a huge sigh of relief as he and his side was criticised heavily following the 20-run defeat to Bangladesh in the first Test. With Bangladesh in rampant mood, there was chance for the hosts to inflict a whitewash on the Aussies. However on the back of some superb cricket and strong determination, the visitors bounced back in style to level the series. There was also the chance to slide to as low as sixth in the ICC Test rankings which could have been their lowest ever in the history. Smiths side also resisted that even though the slipped one place to fifth position as per the latest rankings. Smith however said its pleasing to get over the line as they not only fought against an ever improving Bangladesh but also against scorching heat, intolerable humidity and unkind pitch. It was nice to get over the line. It was obviously disappointing after the first Test match to not win there but credit to Bangladesh, I think they played some pretty good cricket throughout this series. It was nice to end with a 1-1 draw, Smith said. We would have much preferred 2-0 but its nice to get over the line here and have a 1-1 draw. I still think have a lot of improvement in us. We probably let ourselves down at times throughout this Test match. I thought our first-innings bowling was very good to restrict them. Our first-innings batting, obviously the partnership between Petey and Davey was fantastic. And then we got ourselves into one of our collapses that weve had. I think weve had 15 collapses in our last 14 games, our analyst told me yesterday. Thats not good enough for an Australian cricket team. Thats something we really need to work on. We need to rectify that come the next series and the Ashes. This was the first Test series between the two sides since 2006. In between Australia were supposed to tour Bangladesh twice and they postponed it, citing security reasons. However Smith expected to play against Bangladesh more often in future. Itd be good. Eleven years is a long time. I think the way they played over here was exceptional. They obviously beat us in the first Test and challenged us again out here. If we get another opportunity to play against them, thatd be great, he added. As expectedly Smith showered huge praise on Nathan Lyon and David Warner, the heroes of the series who crushed Bangladeshs hope of sweeping the series. Nathan is magnificent, probably more the first innings than the second innings. The first innings, the wicket really wasnt offering a great deal. I thought the way he just hit that right area, particularly with the new ball, skidding it on and hitting a few guys in front. That was the perfect way to bowl. Im really proud of him, he said of Lyon.