‘Extraordinary’: Aussies fighting to avoid grim innings defeat

Australia will resume on day four of the first Test against Bangladesh fighting to avoid an embarrassing innings loss.

As was the case across the first two days, the hosts were outclassed by the Tigers on day three, and will resume on Sunday morning four wickets down, still requiring 67 runs just to make Bangladesh bat again.

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The tourists resumed the morning at 6-351 with a lead of 153, and continued to frustrate the hosts in the early part of the day.

Josh Hazlewood looked to have got an early breakthrough when Mehidy Hasan Miraz was trapped in front and given out lbw by umpire Richard Illingworth, but after a review from the visitors, the ball was shown to be missing leg stump.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait much longer for the breakthrough to come proper, when he beat the bat of Hasan Mahmud and was wrapped on the pads.

Less than half an hour later, Hazlewood had his second when Taijul Islam was caught at gully by Cameron Green after a 17-run cameo that included a stunning six behind the square led boundary off Hazlewood’s bowling.

At this point, runs had more or less dried up and the Aussie bowlers were on top, but the Tigers batters continued to show pure grit and determination to frustrate the Aussie bowlers and keep them in the field.

Bangladesh made it to lunch still only eight down, and it took the Aussies until half an hour after the resumption to claim the final two wickets, the tourists bowled out for 426.

Hazlewood took all four of the morning’s wickets to become the ninth Australian bowler to take 300 Test wickets – a club the other three of his fellow bowlers in this match are already members.

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Needing 228 just to make Bangladesh bat again, the Aussies got off to the worst possible start when hometown hero Jake Weatherald chopped on for a duck in just the second over.

Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne then looked to be building a partnership when Head played on in virtually identical circumstances to his opening partner.

It was the second time in the match Hasan Mahmud had removed both openers.

Bizarrely, Head was so infuriated to get out he reset the stumps himself before walking back to the sheds.

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“Extraordinary – I’ve never seen that in all my cricketing career,” Adam Gilchrist said for Fox Sports.

The Aussies made it to tea two down, desperately hoping Labuschagne and Steve Smith could bat out the day.

But Labuschagne soon found himself trudging off the park when he played all around a straight and quicker one from Taijul Islam and lost his leg stump. He was out for 31.

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Replays showed he had been set up perfectly by the Bangladeshi spinner, who bowled five balls around 80km/h before a quicker one closer to 90 did Labuschagne in.

“I don’t know how Marnus has missed this,” David Warner said on Fox Sports.

“It was a quicker ball, but he’s just straight up missed it. He was looking so good – the best I’ve seen him in 18 months.”

Green and Smith then combined to put on 49 for the fourth wicket before Smith chipped a simple return catch to Mehidy for 44, with the deficit still 106.

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Green had earlier been given an all-time gift from the cricket gods. The Tigers were left fuming when he got a healthy inside edge off the bowling of Taskin Ahmed that clipped leg stump before rolling down to the fine leg boundary.

Smith’s wicket brought Carey to the crease, and he and Green batted superbly through until stumps.

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