Bangladesh primed for first series win

Star batsman Tamim Iqbal believes Bangladesh are primed for their first-ever Test victory over Australia but has warned against assuming spin-friendly pitches will gift them a momentous triumph.

With more runs and more hundreds than any other Bangladeshi in his country's 17-year Test history, Tamim looms as the leading threat to Australia's bowlers on their two-Test tour.

The opener will join fellow veteran Shakib al Hasan in notching a half-century of Tests in Sunday's series-opener, but, like the rest of the hosts’ 14-man squad, he's never played one against Australia.

And while Shakib boldly declared this week that Bangladesh are "very much unbeatable" on home turf, Tamim insisted Australia shouldn't be taken lightly despite the turning surfaces they'll likely encounter.

"The wicket will be helpful to the spinners which means they have to bowl well (but) we won’t win just because we will be playing on a spin-friendly wicket," the 28-year-old told reporters in Dhaka on Wednesday.

"They have a good spinner in Nathan Lyon so we have to be mindful of him too.

"He bowls well to both left-handers and right-handers.

"But we have worked hard in the last two months, just like they’ve prepared to play against us.

"Of course there is home advantage but we have to keep in mind that Australia is a very professional side.

"They are one of the best teams in the world."

Steve Smith's men did get a glimpse of a red-hot Tamim during the Champions Trophy earlier this year, with the opener posting 95 against an attack featuring Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins in their washed-out group match at The Oval.

The Tigers' rise in world cricket was confirmed during that tournament, pulling off a major surprise by defeating New Zealand and advancing to the semi-finals.

And having begun preparations for this tour more than six weeks ago, Bangladesh have another upset in their sights.

"I think we have covered everything in our preparation for this Test series," said Tamim, who was the only batsman to reach triple-figures in his side's historic Test win over England in October.

"Now we just have to execute. We are finishing up on the small things in the next two days, and we will have a great Test match.

"We shouldn’t just win sessions but also every ball to compete with them. We can think of defeating them after winning these small battles.

"But we know that it isn’t impossible to beat them."

Australia allrounder Glenn Maxwell meanwhile highlighted the strengths of two of Bangladesh's other major weapons, Shakib and left-arm sensation Mustafizur Rahman.

"Mustafizur is obviously an exceptional bowler that we've faced during the IPL (with) that real big breakthrough season," said Maxwell in reference to the paceman's 17-wicket breakout T20 campaign last year.

"I suppose as he probably played a bit more Test cricket, his pace probably dropped off a bit with the extra workloads.

"He's still an outstanding bowler and he's still got the ability to swing it, and he's got an unbelievable change-up with his slower ball.

"He's not your conventional left-arm seamer, he's obviously got a very flexible wrist where he can flick it at the last moment and it looks exactly the same as either his bump-ball or his slower ball, so it's a hard thing to pick up.

"The same thing with Shakib. He's a really experienced player, he's been No.1 in the world for allrounders for a while. He's an excellent cricketer.

"They're two guys we're going to have play really well to try and negate their influences on the Test series."

Australia in Bangladesh 2017

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade.

Bangladesh squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (c), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed, Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam, Mominul Haque.

22-23 August Tour match, TBC

27-31 August First Test, Dhaka

4-8 September Second Test, Chittagong