Bangladesh Close In on Historic Test Win Against Australia After Stellar Day Three in Darwin

Spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz claimed the vital wicket of Steve Smith to reduce Australia to 161-4 at the end of the third day, placing Bangladesh on the brink of a historic first Test victory in Australia. At the close of play on Saturday, Australia still trailed the visitors by 67 runs in their second innings, with Cameron Green unbeaten on 43 and Alex Carey on 19.

Earlier, after posting 426 shortly after lunch, Bangladesh seamer Hasan Mahmud stunned the hosts by removing both openers cheaply. Hasan, who previously claimed a career-best 6-55 in the first innings, bowled Jake Weatherald for zero and Travis Head for 17 with identical deliveries that crashed into their stumps. Although Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith attempted to stabilize the innings on a favorable batting surface, Labuschagne fell for 31 after misjudging a straight ball from left-arm spinner Taijul Islam. Smith batted with composure until the score reached 122, when he miscued a leading edge off off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz 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 stated to Fox Sports. “We are taking it session by session, focusing on the process and not the outcome.”

Earlier in the match, Mehidy made a massive contribution with the bat, scoring a crucial half-century during Bangladesh's first innings. Despite entering the series following a difficult warm-up match where they were bowled out for 54 against a Cricket Australia XI, the visiting side dismissed Australia for just 198 on day one and batted with immense discipline to tire out the home attack across 138 overs. Mehidy expertly shielded the tail-enders in the morning session before eventually falling for 65 to Josh Hazlewood, setting up a commanding position for his team as they pursue a milestone victory in Australia.