Kudos to Bangladesh.

Australia just scrapped through on the final day to win the first test against Bangladesh by 3 wickets. Bangladesh deserve high praise for the way in which they dominated the first half of this match and gave Australians a run for their money.

True, they could have batted a little better in the second innings. True, if Mashrafe Mortaza did not drop Ponting (97 at the time) just before lunch (with 23 more to get) may be the story could have been different.

But none of this takes anything away from them. They played exceedingly well and should be confidently looking forward to the second test.

But probably Bangladesh cricket is experiencing a bad case of deja vu. They had this macth in their grasp and must be feeling rotten that they let it slip. Again. I am sure they remember Multan, 2003. It was one wicket then, and Inzamam.

It is 3 wickets now, and Ponting. I hate to say this, but Ponting showed again why he is the best batsman in the world now. He is scoring hundreds at will (8 hundreds in last 10 test matches) and seems truly invincible. Today's 100 is particularly valuable.

Irrespective of the result (and never mind the repeat of a close defeat) Bangladesh deserve full credit. They need not feel like undeserving intruders at this level any more.