Published: 10:19 AM, 16 August 2026
Bangladesh senses famous win but Green leads Australia fightback
Spinner Taijul Islam celebrates after having Australia's Marnus Labuschagne on Saturday in Darwin.-BCB
Spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz took the key wicket of Steve Smith to reduce Australia to 161-4 after the third day of the first Test in Darwin on Saturday and move Bangladesh closer to a historic win.
At the close Australia trailed the visitor by 67 runs in their second innings, with Cameron Green on 43 and Alex Carey 19.
After being dismissed for 426 shortly after lunch, Bangladesh seamer Hasan Mahmud stunned Australia when he claimed both openers cheaply.
Hasan, who took a career-best 6-55 in the first innings, bowled Jake Weatherald (0) and Travis Head (17) in identical fashion, both chopping on to their stumps.
On a good batting strip, Marnus Labuschagne and Smith initially steadied the ship.
Labuschagne, who has been out of form and seen his place in the team increasingly come into question, eased to 31 before playing over the top of a straight ball from left-arm spinner Taijul Islam and being bowled.
Smith, so often Australia's saviour, batted sensibly but with the score on 122 he got a leading edge to off-spinner Mehidy and chipped it straight back to the bowler.
"The way we showed character and the way we played for the last two or three days was outstanding," visiting captain Najmul Hossain Shanto told Fox Sports.
"We are taking it session by session, focusing on the process and not the outcome."
Earlier, Mehidy did the damage with the bat, scoring a valuable half-century in Bangladesh's first innings.
After Bangladesh were well beaten by a Cricket Australia XI in its only warm-up match, including being bowled out for 54 in the second innings, many expected this Test to be an easy Australia victory.
But the unfancied visitor bowled the host out for 198 on the first day and then showed great dedication with the bat to keep the home side in the field for 138 overs.
Mehidy shielded the lower order brilliantly in the morning session to frustrate a tiring Australian attack.
When he was finally dismissed for 65 by Josh Hazlewood shortly after lunch, he had helped put his team into a strong position halfway through the match.
Bangladesh is seeking a first Test win in Australia at the third attempt.
Bangladesh frustrates host
After Bangladesh resumed the day on 351-6, fast bowler Hazlewood took two wickets in the first hour to give the host hope of wrapping up the tail relatively quickly.
But Mehidy's outstanding batting allowed Bangladesh to defy the Australian bowlers on a typically hot and humid Darwin morning.
It was helped by some poor Australian catching, including an almost inexplicable miss by Smith, who got under a mistimed pull from Taskin Ahmed in the deep but dropped the simplest of chances.
Two balls later Mehidy miscued a pull shot only for a diving Head to spill a more difficult chance.
After defying the Australians for over an hour in the final session Friday, Hasan lasted just four overs of the first session Saturday before being trapped leg before by Hazlewood, adding one run to his overnight score of 13.
Taijul Islam made a breezy 17 before becoming Hazlewood's 299th wicket in Tests when he guided a ball straight to Cameron Green at gully.
