Bangladesh hold upper hand after Day 3 of first Test in Darwin
Bangladesh maintained control of the first Test against Australia in Darwin on Day 3, reducing the hosts to 161 for 4 at stumps; Australia trailed by 67 runs with six wickets remaining.
Bangladesh began the day with a 153-run advantage and stretched that lead to 228 before losing their final second-innings wicket, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz top-scoring on 65 as the visitors’ lower order kept Australia bowling for prolonged periods.
Australia’s reply started badly when Bangladesh pacer Hasan Mahmud struck twice with the new ball, bowling Jake Weatherald for a duck and removing Travis Head for 17, which handed Bangladesh an early boost.
Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith steadied the innings with a third-wicket partnership; Labuschagne made 31 and Smith scored 44 before Bangladesh’s spin attack broke the stand — Taijul Islam dismissed Labuschagne and Mehidy took Smith’s wicket.
With Australia four down, Cameron Green and Alex Carey put together an unbeaten 39-run partnership by stumps to keep the hosts in the contest; Australia still required 67 runs to erase the deficit and take the lead.
Josh Hazlewood finished with 6 for 89 for Australia, sweeping through Bangladesh’s lower order and reaching his 300th Test wicket, becoming the ninth Australian to hit the 300 mark and joining teammates Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins among those on the list. Among Australians to reach the mark, only Pat Cummins, Glenn McGrath and Dennis Lillee have a lower bowling average than Hazlewood's 24.02.
"You don't really think about those sort of milestones when you're playing," Hazlewood told Kayo Sports. "I guess it's probably something you look back on at the end. "But I guess just to see the other names there, and I'm playing with three of them, so yeah, it's pretty cool."
Bangladesh head into Day 4 with the upper hand but require six more wickets to complete what would be a historic Test victory, while Australia’s immediate challenge is to survive the opening session and build a lead.
