Big picture - Can Bangladesh pull off another heist?
Bangladesh is the flavour of the season in cricket. Their against-the-odds nine-wicket win against Australia has earned universal praise, especially for the manner in which they dominated the play over the four days. Smarting from the defeat, Australia will look to avoid slipping further down the abyss, having never lost both Tests in a two-match series at home.
Looking at Australia's proud home record, Bangladesh have done the unthinkable. Coach Phil Simmons has called the Darwin result his best Test win; it must mean something, seeing that Simmons, apart from being on the winning side in 11 of the 26 Tests he played in, has coached multiple international teams over the years.
The win has also given Bangladesh a genuine shot at a high position on the World Test Championship table. A win in Mackay will lift them to No. 3. But to get to that, they will have to do more of what they did in Darwin.
It was the consistency in line and length, and killer instinct with the ball, and oodles of patience with the bat that got them to the finish line in Darwin. The fast bowlers took all ten wickets in Australia's first innings before the batters put up a performance to remember - England fans would have wondered why their boys couldn't bat the same way in the last Ashes.
Hasan Mahmud was the Player of the Match for his nine-wicket haul, but Darwin threw up many heroes for Bangladesh. Tanzid Hasan scored a maiden Test century, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz did well with bat and ball. Najmul Hossain Shanto got runs, and his on-field decisions came off more often than they didn't.
Australia, meanwhile, find themselves in an unusual position. They have already made a significant change in their line-up by bringing in Matt Renshaw after Jake Weatherald failed in both innings in his home turf. It is an un-Australian move, but last week has been un-Australian.
Only Josh Hazlewood stayed true to his reputation with a six-wicket haul, while Cameron Green's century in the second innings may have given his career a sense of stability. But Australia will need much more than that as they look to bounce back against a confident Bangladesh side.
Form guide
Australia: LWLWW (last five matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh: WLWWW
In the spotlight: Travis Head and Hasan Mahmud
Travis Head was the first Australia opener in 31 years to score 600-plus runs in a Test series - against England in the Ashes last year. He has had a fantastic time in Tests since 2022, which makes his two knocks in Darwin appear like blips. Head fell to Mahmud in both innings, chopping on in almost identical dismissals. Rustiness is often touted as a factor in a season-opener, particularly after seven months, but Head is unlikely to let that ruin his purple patch.
It is hard to find a bowler in Test cricket's annals who has taken a five-wicket haul in Australia, India and Pakistan in his first two (calendar) years in Test cricket - Hasan Mahmud is one of three, with Wesley Hall and Andy Roberts the others. His nine-for in Darwin equalled the Bangladesh record for most wickets in an overseas match and showed that he can plan a wicket. Bangladesh will need another big effort from Mahmud in Mackay, and if he can do a repeat, his Test career might be going places.
Team news: Bangladesh have injury concerns
Renshaw will take Weatherald's place at the top, Pat Cummins confirmed on match eve.
Australia: 1 Travis Head, 2 Matt Renshaw, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Cameron Green, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Beau Webster, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood
Tanzid woke up with a stiff neck a couple of days ago, while Mushfiqur Rahim was struck in the finger during nets on Thursday. There is no reason yet to believe they are doubts, though. Bangladesh could also have a selection dilemma with Shoriful Islam declared fit.
Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Shadman Islam, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Litton Das (wk), 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Hasan Mahmud, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Taijul Islam/Shoriful Islam, 11 Ebadot Hossain
Pitch and conditions
Batters enjoyed perfect conditions in the last international match, an ODI, held in Mackay last year: Australia racked up 431 for 2 batting first against South Africa, who were beaten by 276 runs. Now Mackay makes its Test debut, and not much has changed going by the look of the pitch in the lead-up to the game. Only five first-class games have been held at this venue over the years, so there's not much to look at there. What we do know is that the strong south-easterly breeze from the ocean nearby usually has a say in proceedings, and that the temperatures are far more comfortable than in Darwin.
Stats and trivia
The Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay is going to become Australia's 12th Test venue. It is also the third Test venue, after the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba and Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh, to make its debut in 2026.
Steven Smith is 50 runs away from going to third position on Australia's all-time run-scoring table. Steve Waugh, with 10,927 runs, is just above him, with Allan Border (11,174) and Ricky Ponting (13,378) further afield.
Bangladesh won a Test in Australia in their third attempt, the shortest time taken by a team from the subcontinent in the country. India and Pakistan needed 12 and seven Tests, respectively.
Mehidy is only the second offspinner to take a five-wicket haul in Australia in this century.