Bangladesh have experienced both sides of the coin on their tour of Australia. The tourists will leave with mixed feelings after following a fairytale win in Darwin with an embarrassing defeat in Mackay, a stark reminder of how quickly fortunes can change.

Touring Australia after 23 years, the one question that followed Bangladesh was around their ability to sustain the pressure of playing Australia for five long days - something that they did not shy away from acknowledging. They stunned the cricketing world by earning their maiden Test win in Australia in Darwin, handing them a nine-wicket defeat that their skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto dubbed their biggest achievement yet in their cricketing history. But Bangladesh were soon sent crashing down in Mackay, losing by an innings and 51 runs.

It was a series where they witnessed both extremes: in Darwin, Bangladesh became the quickest Asian team to win a Test in Australia while in Mackay they became the first team in 21 years to be dismissed for under 100 in both innings of a Test, making 64 and 95. Bangladesh also moved up to No. 6 in the ICC Test rankings after the win in Darwin - their highest ever.

While Bangladesh winning Test matches in New Zealand and Australia in the last five years is a huge step forward for the team, their meek surrender in the second Test of both series has also raised questions over their ability to handle emotions following a historic feat, as well as their consistency in SENA nations.

Tackling pace and bounce with the bat is another aspect that has come under the scanner - ahead of the Australia tour, Bangladesh suffered a big defeat in Zimbabwe. In Mackay, the batters were guilty of repeatedly playing at balls that could have been left alone, offering Australia chances on a spicy wicket. Conditions in Darwin, on the other hand, were a lot closer to home.

Shanto was tasked with the responsibility of keeping their emotions in check, having failed to back up their win against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui in 2022, going down in the second Test in Christchurch. Following the Mackay defeat, he reckoned that the players paid the price of playing bad cricket as opposed to getting carried away.

“Emotion is always there, but as I said in the [pre-match] press conference, as a professional player we need to be very much clear about this Test match,” Shanto told reporters after the defeat.

“I believe the players were quite happy with their preparation and the mindset. We just didn't play at our best. We could have batted better in the second innings. I think Australia also struggled when they batted in their first innings,” he said.

“We have to admit that it was a tough wicket, but we also played some bad shots. I don't want to point fingers at anyone in particular but we played poorly as a team,” he added.

Shanto, however, reckoned that despite their disappointing performance in Mackay, the win in Darwin was one to be proud of and that it would boost the team’s confidence ahead of the tour of South Africa in November.

“I don't think anyone will forget what we have done in Darwin but it is also true that we didn't play good cricket in this Test,” Shanto said.

“When you look at how Australia played in Mackay, you realise exactly what type of team we defeated in Darwin. They decided to bowl first at home, which I have heard they don't often do. Australia's comeback showed how much we challenged them.

“I personally didn't feel too excited after winning in Darwin. I initially treated this as just another Test win. I think when I observed what happened in the last two days in Mackay, especially from the dugout or slip cordon, I had the realisation of what we have actually done. We won a good Test match in Darwin,” he said.

“It is a win to be proud of. We now have two wins of such magnitude. We have defeated New Zealand and Australia in their conditions. I hope we do it in South Africa, which will only help our Test team,” he added.

Bangladesh showed signs of progress with the Darwin triumph, even as gaps in their game were exposed in Mackay. As they go back to the drawing board, there will be several performances they can be proud of - Tanzid Hasan Tamim’s maiden Test hundred, Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam’s exploits with the ball and Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s all-round show in Darwin. To go with that is Shanto’s own excellence with the bat in the first Test. How they deal with the pressure of expectations, however, could dictate the further progress that they make in the longest format.