Australia hit back strongly after their shock defeat in the first Test against Bangladesh, winning the second match by an innings and 51 runs in Mackay on Sunday. Mitchell Starc starred with 10 wickets as Australia completed the Test inside two days.
Only 28 Tests have finished in two days
Australia’s win created a rare piece of Test cricket history. The Mackay Test was only the 28th Test to finish in two days from the 2632 Tests played so far.
In simple terms, only around 1.1% of all Tests have ended within two days.
The numbers show how rare such short Tests have been. From 1877 to 1946, 15 of the 275 Tests played during the period finished in two days.
There was not a single two-day Test between 1947 and 1999, even though 1,233 Tests were played during those 53 years.
Since 2000, 13 of the 1,124 Tests have been completed in two days.
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Mackay joins a rare list
The Australia-Bangladesh Test is the 28th two-day Test in history. The previous one was Australia’s Test against England in Perth in November 2025, which also ended inside two days.
India have been involved in three two-day Tests in recent years.
India beat Afghanistan in Bengaluru in 2018 and England in Ahmedabad in 2021, with both matches finishing inside two days. India’s Test against South Africa in Cape Town in January 2024 also ended in two days, with India winning the match.
Shortest Tests by duration
No.
Teams
Days
Winner
Venue
Date
Test No.
1
England vs Australia
2
Australia
The Oval
28 Aug 1882
9
2
England vs Australia
2
Australia
Lord’s
16 Jul 1888
28
3
England vs Australia
2
England
The Oval
13 Aug 1888
29
4
England vs Australia
2
England
Manchester
30 Aug 1888
30
5
South Africa vs England
2
England
Gqeberha
12 Mar 1889
31
6
South Africa vs England
2
England
Cape Town
25 Mar 1889
32
7
England vs Australia
2
England
The Oval
11 Aug 1890
34
8
South Africa vs England
2
England
Gqeberha
13 Feb 1896
47
9
South Africa vs England
2
England
Cape Town
21 Mar 1896
49
10
Australia vs South Africa
2
Australia
Manchester
27 May 1912
121
11
England vs South Africa
2
England
The Oval
12 Aug 1912
128
12
England vs Australia
2
Australia
Nottingham
28 May 1921
140
13
Australia vs West Indies
2
Australia
Melbourne
13 Feb 1931
205
14
South Africa vs Australia
2
Australia
Johannesburg
15 Feb 1936
250
15
New Zealand vs Australia
2
Australia
Wellington
29 Mar 1946
275
16
England vs West Indies
2
England
Leeds
17 Aug 2000
1508
17
Australia vs Pakistan
2
Australia
Sharjah
11 Oct 2002
1617
18
South Africa vs Zimbabwe
2
South Africa
Cape Town
4 Mar 2005
1737
19
Zimbabwe vs New Zealand
2
New Zealand
Harare
7 Aug 2005
1759
20
South Africa vs Zimbabwe
2
South Africa
Gqeberha
26 Dec 2017
2290
21
India vs Afghanistan
2
India
Bengaluru
14 Jun 2018
2307
22
India vs England
2
India
Ahmedabad
24 Feb 2021
2412
23
Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe
2
Zimbabwe
Abu Dhabi
2 Mar 2021
2413
24
Australia vs South Africa
2
Australia
Brisbane
17 Dec 2022
2482
25
South Africa vs India
2
India
Cape Town
3 Jan 2024
2522
26
Australia vs England
2
Australia
Perth
21 Nov 2025
2608
27
Australia vs England
2
England
Melbourne
26 Dec 2025
2615
28
Australia vs Bangladesh
2
Australia
Mackay
22 Aug 2026
2632
Starc takes 10 wickets
Starc was the main reason behind Australia’s dominant victory. He finished with match figures of 10-51, meaning he took 10 wickets and conceded 51 runs across Bangladesh’s two innings.
He took 6-12 in Bangladesh’s first innings, when the visitors were bowled out for just 64. He then picked up four more wickets in the second innings.
It was Starc’s fourth 10-wicket haul in Test cricket. A 10-wicket haul means a bowler takes at least 10 wickets across both innings of a Test match.
The performance also took Starc’s Test wicket tally to 445. He moved past South Africa pace great Dale Steyn into 10th place on the all-time list.
Starc was named Player of the Series after taking 12 wickets across the two Tests.
“(The body’s) still hanging together, I thoroughly enjoy being a part of this group,” Starc said. “Test cricket, I’ve said it before, it will always be the pinnacle for me. I’d like to milk my body for all I can for test cricket, and that’s how it’ll remain.”
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Bangladesh bowled out for 95
Bangladesh could manage only 95 in their second innings, handing Australia a comprehensive victory after their unexpected loss in the first Test in Darwin.
Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto top-scored with 31, while Mushfiqur Rahim remained unbeaten on 29. Only two other Bangladesh batters scored more than 10 runs.
Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon also took three wickets each. Cummins finished with 3-10, meaning three wickets for 10 runs, while Lyon took 3-25.
Shanto said the conditions in Mackay were different from those in Darwin.
“I think this is a different condition (to the first test in Darwin) and there’s a little bit more extra bounce and swing in the air,” Shanto said. “So it’s challenging for us, but as a team if we want to go forward we need to adjust and I hope this experience will help going forward.”
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