Bangladesh's dream tour of Australia ended in sobering fashion in Mackay, where the hosts crushed the visitors by an innings and 51 runs inside two days to level the two-Test series 1-1. The defeat, which followed Bangladesh's historic first-ever Test win on Australian soil in Darwin, was anchored by Mitchell Starc's devastating 10-wicket match haul.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto refused to reach for excuses, but admitted the scale of the challenge his largely inexperienced side faced Down Under, while insisting regular exposure to Australian conditions is the only path to genuine competitiveness.

'No excuses, we didn't bat well'

Speaking after the loss, Shanto was candid about his side's batting failures across all three innings in Mackay, even as he pointed to the difficulty of the surface.

"It's disappointing, to be very honest. But I believe the toss is a big factor, especially in the first innings where batting was quite difficult. I believe all three innings were quite difficult, but no excuses; we didn't bat well. They have been bowling very well, so the challenge was there. I still feel there are some technical areas we need to improve going forward," Najmul told reporters.

'We want to play here consistently, not after 23 or 25 years'

This was Bangladesh's first Test tour of Australia since 2003 — a 23-year gap that Shanto believes lies at the heart of his players' struggles to adapt. With an estimated 90 percent of the squad having never played in Australia, he made an impassioned plea to cricket administrators for more frequent fixtures in the country.

"We are here after 23 years. It's not easy to compete in this condition against this quality of team. If we are able to come here consistently, then the players can get an idea of playing here. They will have more experience playing in Australia. They can adjust to this kind of condition and play good cricket," he said.

"It's hard for the players. Probably 90% of the players haven't played here. They don't know how to adjust, how to cope with this kind of condition, and this kind of bowling attack. My request is that we want to play here. We want to play in similar conditions consistently, not after 23 or 25 years."

Historic rise to No. 6 in ICC rankings

Despite the heavy Mackay defeat, Bangladesh still emerged from the tour with a landmark achievement. The latest ICC Test rankings update saw them climb three places from No. 9 to No. 6 — their highest-ever position in the Test rankings — reward for their history-making Darwin victory.

Shanto described the rise as a "huge achievement", even as he admitted he would have preferred to mark the milestone after a stronger showing on the field.

"Of course [reaching No. 6] is good news. I am just hearing about it. To reach No 6 in the Test ranking is a huge achievement. It would have been better if we could have played better cricket in this Test match."

Mackay result hands India a WTC lifeline

The defeat also carried significant implications for the World Test Championship race. Bangladesh remain fourth in the nine-team table, but their points percentage has dropped sharply from 66.67 after the Darwin win to 55.56, leaving them with 50 points from six matches.

That slide has opened the door for India, currently fifth with 64 points and a PCT of 53.33 from ten matches. A victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test in Colombo would take India past Bangladesh into fourth place — a significant step in their bid to reach the WTC final.

At the top, Australia strengthened their grip on first place in the standings with 96 points and an 80 PCT from ten matches, ahead of South Africa (75 PCT) and New Zealand (72.22). Sri Lanka sit sixth with a PCT of 33.33, with England, West Indies and Pakistan filling out the next three positions. India's bigger challenge, however, remains the need to keep winning consistently to stay in contention for the top two spots that ultimately determine the finalists.