After chasing the game for two straight days, Australia enjoyed a better Day 3 in Darwin with both bat and ball but that wouldn’t stop Bangladesh from taking another significant step towards a historic Test win, leaving
Australia had to dig deep to stay alive after Bangladesh batted for 138 overs – the most by any visiting side in the last seven years – to take a commanding 228-run first-innings lead.
In fact, they began the day well when Josh Hazlewood trapped Hasan Mahmud LBW, ending the fast bowler’s 92-ball stay that spanned nearly three hours.
After chasing the game for two straight days, Australia enjoyed a better Day 3 in Darwin with both bat and ball but that wouldn’t stop Bangladesh from taking another significant step towards a historic Test win, leaving the hosts at 161 for 4 in their second innings at Stumps, still 67 runs behind.
Not before, though, Taijul had sent Hazlewood over square leg for six, drawing huge cheers.
Bangladesh kept ticking away and adding enough distance between them and Australia.
Mehidy’s vigil ended on 65 when Hazlewood induced a wild swing and a nick, giving the fast bowler his 300th Test wicket.
He then wrapped up the innings two overs later, finishing with excellent figures of 6 for 89 on his return to Test cricket.
Travis Head struck Mahmud for two fours in the sixth over but fell in the bowler’s next, chopping one back onto his stumps.
Head, interestingly, put the bail back in its groove before walking off.
Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne then put on 36, with Labuschagne appearing desperate to bat himself out of a rut that has now stretched to nearly three years without a Test hundred.
He reached 31 before playing all around a full delivery from Taijul and becoming the third Australia batter to be bowled.
Smith and Cameron Green steadied things with an unfussy 49-run stand, but Smith was undone by a momentary lapse of concentration.
Bowling from well behind the crease, Mehidy got the experienced batter to bunt a full delivery straight back to him for a simple return catch.
Green and Alex Carey then ensured there were no further setbacks, seeing Australia through to Stumps and keeping them just alive in a contest that has consistently slipped away from them.
Brief scores: Australia 198 & 161/4 (Steve Smith 44, Cameron Green 43*) trail Bangladesh 426 (Tanzid Hasan Tamim 101, Najmul Hossain Shanto 84, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 65; Josh Hazlewood 6-89) by 67 runs.
