Cummins out to Miraz as Australia 7-207, trailing by 21 on Day 4 of first Test in Darwin
Australia and Bangladesh resumed on Day 4 of the first Test in Darwin on August 16, 2026, with Australia 7 down for 207 after Pat Cummins was caught off Mehidy Hasan Miraz, leaving them 21 runs behind. Shadman Islam took the catch at short leg and Mitchell Starc had come in at number 9.
Bangladesh's spin duo — Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam — set the tone through the morning session, probing the Australian tail with flighted deliveries and variations; Miraz repeatedly troubled the batters and Taijul accounted for a boundary for Starc. The commentary noted a second new ball remained nine overs away, a factor both sides were aware of as Bangladesh sought to dismiss the tourists before that option was available.
Taijul gave Mitchell Starc his first scoring stroke when Starc punched a tossed-up ball to sweeper cover for four, described in the live text as trimming the trail to 16. Cameron Green also featured early in the session, backing away to cut and driving in the off-side for singles while repeatedly defending against spin.
Miraz removed Pat Cummins with a top-spinner that nicked off the inside edge to short leg; the live report records Cummins departing for 8 off 32. The wicket was described in the blog as Miraz coming around the stumps and bowling a delivery wide of off that Cummins tried to block, with Shadman taking the catch "nice and easy."
The Australia scoreboard moved past 200 during Taijul's over, with the live log reporting "200 comes up for Australia, and they trail by 28 runs!" Taijul and Mehidy continued to operate around off stump, extracting edges and low-scoring singles as Australia attempted to protect the tail.
Fielding moments were noted: Taskin Ahmed was described as slow in chasing a ball from mid-wicket to his right, requiring Mohammad Rahim to cover from deep fine leg and restrict the batters to two; Najmul Hossain Shanto expressed visible displeasure at Taskin's effort. The blog also recorded a near run-out when both batters ran halfway down the track before retreating in time after a Cameron Green punch to the right of covers.
Bangladesh's live commentary concluded that they had inched "one more step closer to history" and stated the tourists would aim to remove the remaining Australian wickets before the second new ball arrived; that second new ball was cited as still nine overs away, and preventing Australia from taking the lead remained Bangladesh's immediate objective.