“That's sport boss. No favourites, no underdogs.”

Phil Simmons isn’t a man of too many words. Phil Simmons is also not a man of too many emotions. And the Bangladesh team have now become accustomed to the extremely chilled out demeanour of their head coach. So much so that it didn’t surprise the captain Najmul Hossain Shanto when Simmons didn’t say or emote too much even as everyone around him lost their collective minds in Darwin on Sunday afternoon. In the minutes and hours after Bangladesh had pulled off the greatest upset in Test history. Against all odds and in the most convincing fashion ever.

But Simmons managed to sum it all up in those seven words that he uttered while we passed each other at the Marrara Oval, some 45 minutes after Mominul Haque had hit probably the most historic boundary in Bangladesh cricket history. It really was the ultimate underdog script that only sport can deliver. The drama was accentuated even more because of the inherent nature of Test cricket.

As it turns out, Simmons’ daily message to his team leading up to the Test in Darwin was as simple as they made their approach to be. “Keep them on the field every day of the Test.”

Not only did Shanto and his men do just that, with the Australian attack being called into action on all four days of cricket in hot and humid conditions, they also ended up dominating the Aussies on each one of those days. In fact Bangladesh won all 14 sessions of cricket in the Test match. Along the way they also produced the perfect Test match win in every way possible. As if they were following a blueprint or formula created in a laboratory.

Their fast bowlers led by Hasan Mahmud dominated proceedings on Day One. Tanzid Hasan’s century and contributions from Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim meant that their key batters dictated terms on Day 2. Day 3 then was all about their tail wagging and grinding the opposition bowlers further into the dust while they extended their lead meticulously into out of reach areas. And come Day 4, it was all about the spinners coming to the party, led by Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Perfection from start to finish.

It was also an ode to the pitch in Darwin, with immense credit to curator Jake Pavlich, which allowed the visitors to pull off their basic yet brilliant masterplan. The pitch allowed every facet of the game to flourish at opportune stages over four days.

The amazingly clinical nature of Bangladesh’s performance though meant that despite this being their most monumental Test win, there was no need for any hyperbole to describe the nature of their victory. For, they never allowed any room for hyperbole with the way in which they outclassed their much more fancied opponents, and that too on their home soil.

To the extent that deeming this an “upset” feels almost unfair to what Bangladesh have achieved here, considering Australia never even came close to getting a sniff of making a comeback. They were outplayed from start to finish.

This was the kind of Test win that doesn’t make you wake up the next morning and pinch yourself while you try and fathom what transpired the previous evening. There is no shock and awe. Like when Shamar Joseph tore Australia apart on one leg at the Gabba in 2024 or even when Ben Stokes took them down at Headingley in 2019. This wasn’t a Test that Australia were in a position to win before a miracle performance from someone in the opposition snatched it from them.

In any other scenario, the writing would have been on the wall from the second evening of the Test, where Australia were playing catch up from so far behind that they never looked like keeping up. But therein comes the bigger picture of Bangladesh’s feat that really puts into context the enormity of the coup they pulled off in Darwin.

Starting with how they had been deemed not good enough to play Test cricket on Australian soil for 23 years. And how their captain had spoken about wanting to play good cricket but also more importantly earn the respect of Australian cricket so that they get invited again. For 21 of those years, Mushfiqur Rahim has been a Test cricketer. While he hasn’t been the most expressive Bangladeshi cricketer on tour so far, it was quite something to see him leave the customary queue for handshakes with the opposition and get his hands on two stumps as souvenirs from the middle. And why not.

This was more than just a Test win. This was a statement. To Australian cricket, that Bangladesh are more than just good enough to be playing Tests on their shores. And also, to the rest of the cricket world that they are ready to be compete against the highest profile Test teams. Nothing better than a famous Test win in Australia, which has been so rare for south Asian teams - the last one from the subcontinent apart from India to do so was Pakistan in 1995 - to announce their intentions and back it up as well.

The manner in which they were able to be better than Australia on all counts also means that there is no reason why they can’t rinse and repeat this performance on what is expected to be a flat pitch in Mackay. With the pressure now squarely on Australia, they will need to play much better and force a win to avoid the ignominy of a series defeat at home.

The long-term future of Bangladeshi Test cricket can wait for now though. While Shanto and Simmons didn’t give much away, or tried not to anyway, the rest of the team were in no mood to hold back in their acknowledgement of what they’d done. Including Mushfiqur, who led the way with the multiple demands of “Chobi, Chobi” which translates to ‘taking a picture’ in Bangla. There were also a number of dignitaries who’d arrived to soak in the moment of glory and even a video call from the Prime Minster back home.

There were hundreds of Chobis clicked thereafter, including a team photo in the middle of Marrara Oval where they’d vanquished the mighty Aussies. Not too far away stood Habibul Bashar, former captain and current chairman of selectors.

“Very different to our last visit in 2003,” he said with a shy smile while talking about the 50 missed calls he’d noticed on his phone.

And right in the middle of the picture sat Simmons, beaming with the biggest smile he’d flashed all week long. But still not giving much away. For, he never does, but knowing well that he’d helped orchestrate the reddest letter day in Bangladesh cricket history.