ISLAMABAD: Test cricket, the sport’s purest and most unforgiving format, has an uncanny ability to produce results that defy logic, form, and history, where rankings become meaningless, home advantage evaporates, and the so-called minnows rise to devour the giants.
And in August 2026, the cricketing world witnessed yet another seismic shock as Bangladesh, a team that had been bowled out for a mere 54 in a warm-up match just days earlier, trounced the world No. 1 Australia by nine wickets in Darwin to register their maiden Test victory on Australian soil, a triumph that captain Najmul Hossain Shanto hailed as their “biggest ever across formats” and one that now takes its rightful place among the most astonishing upsets of the past decade.
Bangladesh wins its first ever Test in Australia.
Jim Maxwell has called it the biggest upset he’s seen in his 53 years of commentating, and Bangladesh absolutely deserved the victory.
Hear every ball, live and ad-free, on ABC listen: https://t.co/jipkFDNPpX
Live blog:… pic.twitter.com/azx5zSzw29— ABC SPORT (@abcsport) August 16, 2026
From the pace batteries of Bangladesh and West Indies dismantling Australian batting line-ups in their own backyards to New Zealand’s unprecedented 3-0 clean sweep in India, ending a home streak that had stood for 18 series, the last ten years have produced a treasure trove of results that have reminded fans why Test cricket remains the ultimate examination of skill, character, and resilience.
Bangladesh is the toast of the cricket world after stunning Australia in one of the biggest upsets in Test history.#MIHH pic.twitter.com/1KbU87xOjz
— Muhammed Haidery (@HaideryMuhammed) August 16, 2026
Here, WE News English ranks seven of the most unexpected Test victories from the past decade, in ascending order of shock value.
- Afghanistan beat Bangladesh, Chattogram, 2019
It had been barely a year since Afghanistan played their first ever Test, yet they arrived in Bangladesh and produced a performance of remarkable maturity against a home side that had swept the West Indies 2-0 and beaten Australia and England in recent years.
Rahmat Shah’s hundred helped Afghanistan post 342 before captain Rashid Khan, at his devastating best, took 5-55 to bowl out the hosts for 205. Afghanistan then added 260, Rashid contributing 24 to his first-innings 51, and despite multiple rain breaks, the visitors found themselves chasing the clock. With figures of 6-49, Rashid orchestrated a thrilling finish, helping Afghanistan get there with 20 balls to spare. It was a victory that announced Afghanistan’s arrival as a force to be reckoned with in the longest format.
- Bangladesh beat New Zealand, Mount Maunganui, 2022
This victory marked the first great moment for Bangladesh’s ever-improving Test attack. Devon Conway’s 122 steered New Zealand to 328, but Bangladesh responded with four half-centuries to secure a 130-run first-innings lead.
Then came Ebadot Hossain’s spell, arguably the greatest bowling performance in Bangladesh’s Test history. His 6-46 skittled the hosts for 169, with Shoriful Islam claiming three wickets in the first innings and Taskin Ahmed taking three in the second.
Bangladesh chased down the target with eight wickets to spare, a result that signaled their growing prowess away from home.
- Bangladesh sweep Pakistan 2-0, 2024
Until this series, Bangladesh had never won a Test match against Pakistan. They left the country having clean-swept them in their own den—a result that stunned the cricketing world.
In the first Test, spinners shared seven wickets in the third innings to bowl out Pakistan for 146 as Bangladesh won by 10 wickets. The second Test was even more dramatic: Pakistan made 274 and had Bangladesh reeling at 26-6, but Litton Das’ heroic 138 lifted them to 262. Hasan Mahmud then produced a spell of 5-43 to bowl out Pakistan for 172, securing a six-wicket victory.
This was also the series when Nahid Rana burst onto the scene, consistently hitting the 145kmph-mark and taking five wickets in the second Test after an expensive outing in the first.
- India beat Australia, Brisbane, 2021
India winning a Test in 2021 can hardly be called an upset on paper, but the Gabba heist makes this list purely because of the circumstances surrounding it.
By the final Test of the series, India had lost so many players to injury that they handed Test caps to Washington Sundar and T. Natarajan, men who had arrived in Australia as net bowlers. Kartik Tyagi and Kuldeep Yadav were the only reserves left. It did not matter.
After keeping Australia to 369 and posting 336, built on a crucial 123-run partnership between Shardul Thakur and Sundar, India restricted the hosts in their second innings. Mohammed Siraj took five wickets, leaving India to chase 328. Shubman Gill’s 91 and Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 89 saw them home in one of the most memorable victories in Indian cricket history.
- West Indies beat Australia, Brisbane, 2024
The West Indies had not beaten Australia in a Test since 2003, and not won a Test in Australia since 1996/97. Coming into the decider one Test down, the odds were stacked heavily against them.
They scored 311 with Kavem Hodge, Kevin Sinclair, and Joshua Da Silva all scoring fifties. Australia recovered from 54-5 to declare on 289-9, but the West Indies could set only 216. Then came the moment that would define the match—and a career.
Shamar Joseph, not expected to take the field after Mitchell Starc struck him on the leg, produced a spell for the ages: 7-68 that ripped through the Australian batting order. From 113-2, the hosts were bowled out for 207, with Steve Smith carrying his bat on 91 not out. It was the West Indies’ first Test victory in Australia in 27 years.
- Bangladesh beat Australia, Darwin, 2026
If Ebadot Hossain was the hero in Mount Maunganui, it was Hasan Mahmud who rose to the occasion in Darwin in August 2026, an off-season Test at one of Australia’s less-used venues.
Read Also: Bangladesh eyeing maiden Test win in Australia after dominant day three in Darwin
Bangladesh’s fast bowlers took all ten wickets in Australia’s first innings of 198, with Mahmud leading the rout with 6-55. After Tanzid Hasan’s maiden Test century (101) and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 84 gave Bangladesh a commanding 228-run lead, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (5-66) and Mahmud (3-56) ensured the target was a mere 57.
23 YEARS OF WAITING IS OVER! 🇧🇩👑 Bangladesh deliver one of the greatest Test upsets in history, completely outclassing the top-ranked Aussies in their own backyard! What a proud moment for Bangladesh cricket! 🙌💥 #AUSvsBAN #IstTest pic.twitter.com/82mvvuKawE
— Kashif Munawar (@Kashif_Munawwar) August 16, 2026
The visitors chased it down with nine wickets to spare, securing what Shanto called their greatest ever win across formats. Remarkably, Bangladesh achieved this maiden victory in Australia in just their third attempt, the second joint-fewest alongside South Africa, with only England (two attempts) doing better.
- New Zealand sweep India 3-0, 2024
Topping the list for one of the most unexpected results in Test cricket history, New Zealand’s clean sweep of India in 2024 remains a result that defies all conventional logic.
India had won 18 consecutive home Test series and were overwhelming favorites against a New Zealand side that had won only two Tests in the country in their entire history. What followed was nothing short of stunning.
In Bengaluru, India batted first in seam-friendly conditions and were bowled out for 46, a score from which they never recovered. In Nagpur, Mitchell Santner, who had never taken a Test four-wicket haul until then, took 13 wickets in the match. And in Mumbai, India failed to chase 147 as Ajaz Patel finished with 11 wickets.
New Zealand’s spinners outshone their celebrated Indian counterparts, and the Indian home fortress, which had stood for 18 series, fell not with a whimper but with a clean sweep. The fortress would have fallen at some point, but it was not supposed to be a whitewash, and definitely not against a side that had not won there since 1988.
Test cricket’s enduring magic
From Bangladesh’s pace revolution to West Indies’ resurrection, from India’s injury-ravaged resilience to New Zealand’s historic sweep, these seven victories remind us why Test cricket remains the ultimate theater of sporting drama.
Read Also: Bangladesh Stun Cricket World with Historic Darwin Demolition of Australia
As Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto declared after the Darwin triumph: “This is the biggest win so far for Bangladesh in any format. Going forward, we will do something special in the future.”
If the past decade is any indication, the cricketing world should brace itself for many more shocks to come, because in Test cricket, the only thing that is certain is uncertainty itself.
