Bangladesh pacer Hasan Mahmud always smiles. Whether he is walking an easy path or the going gets tough, that smile hardly vanishes. He rarely carries the aggressive body language usually associated with pace bowlers, either on or off the field. Nor does he have a trademark celebration like some of his teammates in the fast-bowling department.

Hasan keeps his celebration simple: he looks up at the sky before hugging his teammates. It was no different when he returned career-best figures of 6 for 55 on the opening day of the two-match Test series against Australia, bowling them out for 198 at a packed Marrara Stadium in Darwin on Thursday.

Australia's 198 is their lowest Test total against Bangladesh and also marked Bangladesh's best bowling performance against Australia in Test cricket.

It was only the second time Bangladesh had dismissed all 10 opposition batters with pace bowlers in a Test innings, after the 2024 Rawalpindi Test against Pakistan. And the wrecker-in-chief was none other than Hasan, who kissed the turf after completing a dream spell in front of a nearly packed venue.

Like his celebration, Hasan keeps his bowling simple. He knows he does not have express pace, so he relies on his line and length.

Hasan bowled 9.9% of his deliveries on a full length, 44.6% on a good length, 17.6% on a hard back-of-length and 27.7% short. In comparison, Bangladesh's other bowlers delivered 6.7% full, 44.8% on a good length, 23.1% on a hard back-of-length and 34.3% short.

While much of the talk these days is around Nahid Rana, Hasan goes about his work without much noise, putting together disciplined spells with both conventional and wobble-seam bowling.

He had already picked four wickets in Bangladesh's lone practice game against Cricket Australia XI and started this Test in much the same fashion, removing both openers before continuing to trouble the Australian batters.

Hasan's stint in the county circuit with Kent leading up to the series appears to have had an impact. His performances there not only established him as one of the club's key players but also gave him the belief that he belonged at that level.

“I have never seen any Bangladeshi cricketer treated so highly in the county circuit,” former national left-arm spinner Enamul Haque, who was present in England during his stint with Kent, told Cricketlineguruji.

“It surely helps when you do well because you learn so many things and importantly how to bowl in seaming conditions,” he added.

Hasan may even look back on the tennis elbow injury he suffered during the BPL, which forced him to miss the home series against Pakistan, as a blessing in disguise.

He was not picked for the Pakistan series because he had not played enough competitive cricket after recovering from the injury. Instead, he went to England for a trial at the Kent nets, where he immediately impressed head coach Adam Hollioake. The rest, as they say, is history.

“That was a pretty good experience for me, playing in England. I hope I will continue playing for Kent," he said.

“I was in England playing county cricket and that is how I started. I find it very similar conditions in Australia and England. I just carry out those things. I got six wickets in England as well in Blackpool, so I just got the experience and brought it here, bowling with a bit of confidence,” he said.

Hasan was particularly pleased with the wicket of Steven Smith, who he felt paid the price for playing without enough patience.

“The Smith wicket (was special), he couldn't quite read it. My instinct was in play that he was about to do something, I sent down a bouncer and he (got out),” he said, adding that he was happy with his overall performance.

“For me, every wicket was special, the energy that we had throughout the day and the effort that we put in, I credit my teammates, the captain was there with his support, Alhamdulilah we could end the day well,” he said, adding that it was a dream come true to share the field with Australia's legendary pace attack.

“I have been following them since I was playing cricket. Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Hazlewood are some of the best fast bowlers from Australia. I was pretty happy to see them in front of me and playing with them especially. It is a huge experience for me facing them,” he said.

After Hasan's five-for, Bangladesh's social media platforms were flooded with a recent comment from Shakib Al Hasan, who had said last week that Hasan was by far the best pace bowler in Bangladesh's Test side.

The right-arm pacer put his worth on display in Darwin, and did so in typically quiet fashion.