Defiant Australia eat into deficit

First-innings runs are what captain Steve Smith asked for and gritty first-innings runs are what Australia delivered on the second day of the final Test of their Qantas Tour of Bangladesh in Chittagong.

They delivered 225 of them for the loss of only two wickets as a trio of their top order struck half-centuries in sweltering tropical heat that left Australia's batsmen exhausted and Peter Handscomb gasping for air late in the day.

Smith, who made 58, had rued Australia's total of 217 in their first dig in Dhaka, labelling the below-par tally as the single biggest reason they had succumbed to Bangladesh for the first time in their 17-year Test history.

But after knocking over the hosts for 305 in the first session of day two, with Nathan Lyon finishing with his joint second-best Test figures of 7-94, Australia erased all but 80 of the deficit before stumps and put themselves on course for a hefty lead.

Handscomb (69 not out) and David Warner (88 not out) were the unbeaten batsmen at stumps, with the former needing an extended break in play late on after dry-retching and dropping to his knees just before the close.

The Victorian required medical attention but after replacing some of the fluid he'd lost in the searing heat, as well as applying a few ice-packs to his head, he pushed on to reach stumps undefeated by both bowlers and the conditions.

Having delivered nearly a third of Australia's overs on day one in conditions he described as the toughest of his career, off-spinner Lyon showed no signs of weariness when Smith turned to him early on Tuesday with Bangladesh resuming on 6-253.

He needed just two balls to pierce Mushfiqur Rahim's defence as the Bangladesh captain inside-edged onto his pad with the ball skipping back onto his stumps to end his knock of 68.

Capable No.8 Nasir Hossain took advantage of a couple of rare looseners from Pat Cummins, cracking 10 off an over from the lone quick, whose figures of 0-46 from 22 overs failed to reflect his sterling effort in punishing humidity.

Lyon, though, was again the most probing member of the attack, troubling Bangladesh's lower order with turn and drift.

Wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, who Australia had considered dropping in the lead-in to this match, continued his clean work behind the stumps when he snaffled a sharp chance off Agar to remove Nasir for 45.

It sparked a collapse of 3-12 as David Warner ran Mehedi out with a direct hit after an athletic gather and throw running towards the third-man boundary.

And while Taijul Islam pushed the score past 300 with a towering six over mid-wicket off Glenn Maxwell, Lyon finished the innings when Smith took a smart catch to his right at slip to remove Taijul.

With both teams fielding three spinners (four if allrounders Nasir and Maxwell are included), it was something of a surprise when Bangladesh quick Mustafizur Rahman struck before lunch.

With legs still fresh despite his 166-ball knock across the first two days, Mushfiqur's leap for a spectacular one-handed catch down the leg-side sent Matthew Renshaw packing for just four.

Mustafizur, the owner of one world cricket's most fluid bowling actions, looked as dangerous as he has this series and had outside edges from both Warner and Smith go begging after lunch through the largely vacant slip region.

The left-armer's whippy pace gave way to Shakib Al Hasan's slingy spin, and the allrounder ran off with his head in his hands when Smith survived a close call early in the spinner's spell.

The skipper padded up to one that turned sharply from outside leg-stump, the ball spinning past the batsman's front pad and only the outside half of his back leg ensured Smith's stumps remained intact.

But the visitors looked largely untroubled by the lead spin duo of Shakib and Mehedi on a pitch still playing fairly true, and a pair of creative stand-up swats through fine-leg from Smith saw him pass 50 for the 42nd time in his Test career.

Smith spoke before the match about how Bangladesh had gained an advantage in the first Test by having a third spin option to always throw at Australia whenever the batsmen got into a rhythm, and his dismissal before tea was the perfect demonstration of that point.

After Shakib and Mehedi had bowled in tandem for 14 overs, Taijul was introduced for the first time in the match and the left-armer's very first offering had Smith misreading the angle as the ball skidded straight through bat and front pad on the way to his middle stump.

It ended a 93-run stand between the skipper and Warner, who passed fifty soon after having struck only two boundaries along the way. Coming from 98 balls, it was the fourth-slowest fifty of Warner's Test career and his slowest in more than four years.

The left-hander also got a life a short time later when Mominul put down a sharp chance at short-leg off the face of the left-hander's bat.

With the field pushed back, Warner and new partner Handscomb were content to push things along in singles against the spinners as the duo swapped helmets for hats; Warner his new Baggy Green (he left his original in Sydney) and Handscomb a white floppy.

Warner received a second life 20 minutes before stumps when he skipped down to Mehedi and was lucky on two counts; firstly as the ball narrowly missed his off stump and secondly because Mushfiqur made a rare blunder in missing the stumping.

Both batsmen were visibly fatigued by this point and the game had to be stopped briefly as Handscomb battled the heat late in the day.

Putting his hands on his knees after each delivery, Handscomb showed remarkable composure to navigate his way safely to stumps, continuing to dance down the track to the home side's spinners.

It was the kind of dogged effort that would have no doubt been lauded after play, not least by their skipper after his plea earlier in the week. 

Australia XI: David Warner, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (c), Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Hilton Cartwright, Matthew Wade (wk), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Steve O'Keefe, Nathan Lyon

Bangladesh XI: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim (c/wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Mehedi Hasan, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Mominul Haque

Australia in Bangladesh 2017

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Steve O'Keefe, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade.

Bangladesh squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (c), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed, Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam, Mominul Haque.

27-31 August First Test, Dhaka, Bangladesh won by 20 runs

4-8 September Second Test, Chittagong