Unbeaten Warner sets up tense finish in Dhaka

Australia must match the mettle of the last side to don the Baggy Green in Bangladesh if they are to claim a famous comeback victory in the first Test in Mirpur.

A gritty day three batting effort from the hosts has them eyeing their first-ever Test win over Australia in what would be further confirmation of their rise as a legitimate force in international cricket. 

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon, having earlier in this match reached 250 Test wickets, claimed his 10th career five-wicket haul and finished with 6-82 from 34.5 overs on a day soured considerably by news of a side strain to Josh Hazlewood that has ruled him out of the remainder of the series (he will bat if required on Wednesday) and the India ODI series that follows.

Needing 265 in the fourth innings to win, Australia stuttered with the early losses of Matthew Renshaw (five) and Usman Khawaja (one), before a superb hand from vice-captain David Warner (75no) and patient support from his skipper Steve Smith (25no) steadied the ship and took them to 2-109 at stumps.

Australia have only chased down more than 200 to win a Test on the subcontinent once. That was on their first and only Test trip to Bangladesh before this series, in 2006, when then-captain Ricky Ponting struck an unbeaten 118 to lead the tourists to a tense three-wicket win in Fatullah.

It was Lyon's excellent work that kept the tourists in the contest on another humid morning, as he struck twice inside the first hour after Bangladesh had resumed at 1-45, a worrying 88 runs in front.

The off-spinner trapped nightwatchman Taijul Islam (four) with a faster straighter ball – the type of delivery that had troubled Australia in their first innings – before Imrul Kayes edged one that exploded out of the Mirpur pitch to David Warner at second slip.

It was the kind of delivery Lyon has frequently been able to produce, and the increasing variation in bounce and spin had Australia pushing for a rapid collapse that never truly materialised. 

As he did on day one, Pat Cummins (1-38 from 14 overs) delivered a fiery first-up spell, and thought he had Tamim when Steve Smith sent a close lbw shout upstairs.

The review however was the first Australia have got wrong in the match and both Tamim Iqbal (78) and captain Mushfiqur Rahim (41), who'd promoted himself up the order, were superb in finding a successful method with balls routinely exploding off a now battered surface.

Tamim's strength through the off-side was on full display in his knock of 71 in the first dig, and back-to-back cover driven boundaries off Cummins once again thrilled the scattered but vocal Dhaka crowd. 

Yet the loss of Hazlewood made life easier for the home side and robbed Smith of a vital bowling ingredient.

After Australia sprung a surprise in bowling part-timer Usman Khawaja after lunch to enable Cummins to switch ends, the speedster showed tremendous stamina to front up again with the same fire he'd brought earlier in the day, and was rewarded when Tamim gloved an absolute snorter through to Matthew Wade.

Tamim had hardly put a foot wrong up until that point and after a less-than-fervent appeal from Australia, he was perhaps a little unfortunate they decided to review it and reveal an ever-so-slight disruption on snicko, with ball kissing glove.  

And when Shakib (5), the standout player in this match so far, gave Lyon his third after skying one to Cummins at cover, Australia had their tails up. Considering Bangladesh had surrendered their final four wickets for only 20 runs in their first innings, a sub-200 run chase wasn't out of the question.

But Mushfiqur and the demoted Sabbir Rahman pushed Bangladesh's lead past that mark, with the latter's gall to reverse-sweep against the sharp spin of Lyon a sign of this side's confidence.

But after Mushfiqur suffered cricket's unluckiest fate – run-out backing up at the non-striker's end, thanks to some quick thinking from Lyon – the hosts lost 3-0 in nine balls.

Wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, whose bye tally reached 30 for the match on a tricky pitch for glovemen, clung onto a sharp bottom-edged chance off Agar to remove Nasir Hossain without scoring, while Sabbir departed for 22 when Peter Handscomb took a simple bat-pad chance to hand Lyon a fourth.

After some lusty blows from tailenders Mehedi Hasan (26) and Shafiul Islam (9), Lyon removed the latter (a sharp catch by Handscomb in close) to claim his 10th career five-wicket haul, and then had the former caught on the square-leg fence by Usman Khawaja to help himself to his best-ever match figures in Asia (9-161) and dismiss Bangladesh for 221.

Australia's immediate reply with the bat was swift courtesy of Warner, who was gfted two boundaries in the opening over of the 30 they were to send down before stumps. But the home side's tweakers locked in immediately thereafter and the tourists' capabilities against spin were again put to the test.

Matthew Renshaw, Australia's top-scorer from the first-innings with 45, managed just five this time around before Mehedi's straighter one yet again struck an Australian pad in front.

Bangladesh smelled blood, surrounding first drop Khawaja with four men around his bat. He attacked, but a top-edged sweep was well caught by a tumbling Taijul Islam at deep backward-square, capping a difficult match for the Queenslander, who now averages less than 15 on the subcontinent.

Replaced by Smith, the captain was millimetres away from a golden duck and his second dismissal to Mehedi in as many innings, when replays of a referred stumping – that had Bangladesh in a frenzy and Smith halfway off the ground – showed a tiny portion of his right boot behind the line. 

Warner, who like Khawaja has had his struggles in Asia, looked decisive and attacked Bangladesh's four spinners with confidence. While he was quick to punish half-trackers, his footwork in slamming Mehedi back over his head displayed the kind of fearlessness that's made him such a force on his home turf.

After their early burst, Bangladesh's spinners lost their bite as the shadows of the Sher-e Bangla Stadium stands lengthened, and both Smith and Warner looked largely untroubled as stumps neared.

And given both Ponting and his then vice-captain Adam Gilchrist struck hundreds in that 2006 escape in Fatullah, it'd be fitting if Australia's new-age leadership duo could do the trick on Bangladeshi soil this time around.

 

AUSTRALIA XI: Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Matthew Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

BANGLADESH XI: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (c), Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman

Australia in Bangladesh 2017

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, 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.

22-23 August Tour match, washed out

27-31 August First Test, Dhaka

4-8 September Second Test, Chittagong