Australia captain Steven Smith felt relieved as they managed a convincing seven-wicket win against Bangladesh on Thursday during day four of their second and final Test match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
Smith also credited Bangladesh for a competitive Test series.
Australia were under pressure ahead of the second Test as they lost the first Test in Mirpur last week.
If Australia had lost the series 2-0 then they would have dropped to sixth position in the ICC Test ranking.
But thanks to match-winning performances from vice captain David Warner and off-spinner Nathan Lyon, Australia rose to the occasion and played brilliantly to level the series 1-1.
“We would have much preferred 2-0 series win but it's nice to get over the line here and have a 1-1 draw. Credit goes to Bangladesh, I think they played some pretty good cricket throughout this series. It was nice to end with 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,” Smith told the media during the post-Test press conference.
“Our first-innings batting, obviously the partnership between Peter Handscomb and Warner 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 [Wednesday]. 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,” he said.
Smith praised Warner and Lyon as these two were key figures throughout the series for Australia.
“I'm really proud of Lyon. I think he's come a long way particularly on the subcontinent over the last couple of years. He's developed a different style at times. He knows when to bowl differently and when to bowl his stock ball. I thought the way he bowled throughout this series, to take 22 wickets in a two-match series is remarkable,” he explained.
"And I thought Warner was magnificent. Obviously after the first innings he changed his game and found a style to play in these conditions. And the energy in his feet and the way he used his feet were spectacular. So, hopefully he can continue to do that in these conditions and continue to dominate,” he said.
Bangladesh played a Test against Australia after 11 long years and after such competitive performance, Smith believes contesting Tests more often between the two teams would be great in near future.
“It'd be good to play against Bangladesh in future. Tests after 11 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 said.
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