Bangladesh vs Australia 1st Test Full Commentary

We are back for Bangladesh's reply! Shadman Islam and Tanzid Hasan are the two openers for the visitors. Mitchell Starc has the new Kookaburra and will get us underway again. Three slips and a gully waiting for Shadman. Here we go...

... SECOND INNINGS ...

The Tigers turn up the heat - The Tigers have roared, and how, with their pacers doing all the talking. Relentless from the first ball to the last, Bangladesh’s seamers kept Australia under pressure throughout, with Hasan Mahmud leading the charge with career-best figures of 6/55. Taskin Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain also played their part, sharing four wickets between them. Taijul Islam was not quite at his best, but Bangladesh barely felt his absence. Now comes the challenge for their batters, who are new to these conditions and face a formidable Australian attack. Join us in a bit for the second innings.

Man of the moment - Bangladesh's Hasan Mahmud is up for a quick chat with Adam Gilchrist. On his six-wicket haul, he says he was genuinely excited to play in Australia, calling them one of the best sides in the world, and adds that he simply tried to stick to his lines and lengths while following the instructions his captain gave him. When asked about the contributions from his fellow bowlers, he keeps it simple, saying they did a great job too. On his experience playing red-ball county cricket, he calls it a great learning experience playing in England, adding that he hopes to continue turning out for Kent going forward.

Smith's lone fight in Darwin - Australia looked rusty with the bat from the outset. The openers stitched together a 45-run stand, but it never looked convincing, and Bangladesh soon had them reeling at 74/4. Steve Smith held one end together despite getting a few lives, with his 55-run stand with Carey after Lunch proving crucial in preventing further damage. Smith battled his way to a fighting 71, but with partners falling around him and little support from the lower order, Australia could not even cross 200.

6 am GMT - Australia rolled over for 198 - Bangladesh have produced a superb bowling display to bowl Australia out for just 198, capping an impressive effort in conditions they are experiencing for the first time. It could have been even better, but they will gladly take this position. Australia will be disappointed with their effort, although their world-class bowling attack will make sure to make this a daunting total. The stage is now set for an intriguing response from the hosts.

Josh Hazlewood is the last man in.

Welcome back for Australia's second batting stint. The pitch has been excellent for batting and the hosts will try to shrug off their first inning struggles and start afresh. Well, it is easier said than done, especially after toiling in the heat for 138 overs. The Tigers have spring in their steps as the players of Bangladesh spread out to take their fielding spots. On the other hand, the Aussie opening pair - Travis Head and Jake Weatherald - take their sweet time to reach the crease. Taskin Ahmed has the new ball in hand and is raring to go. Head is on strike, with three slips and a gully in place. Here we go...

... THIRD INNINGS ...

Crucial sessions ahead for survival - The next couple of sessions of the day are set to dictate the entire course of this Test match as Australia start their second innings under immense pressure. Facing a massive 228-run deficit, the hosts need an exceptionally strong response from their top order to dig themselves out of trouble. To put the visitors back on the defensive and set up a competitive target, Australia will, at a bare minimum, need a total of 400 runs in this second dig. The pitch condition and the scoreboard pressure mean their batters must show immense discipline to deny a confident Bangladeshi bowling attack looking for blood. Back in a bit with Australia's batting reply. Stay tuned.

Defiant lower-order partnership frustrates hosts - The defining period of frustration for the Australian team came courtesy of a gritty 7-wicket stand between Hasan Mahmud and Mehidy Hasan Miraz. While a 46-run partnership might seem modest on paper, the duo ground down the bowling attack by consuming 170 balls together. Australia's bowling unit put in a decent shift overall, but ultimately leaked more runs than they'd have liked. To sum up their toil, they turned to as many as eight different bowlers across the innings, Josh Hazlewood emerging as the pick of the attack with an outstanding six-wicket haul, while also completing 300 Test wickets en route. Mitchell Starc chipped in with a couple of scalps, while Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon picked up one apiece.

Tigers roar out loud - Replying to the hosts' first-innings total of 198, the visitors batted in their own merry way, with Tanzid Hasan stealing the spotlight by smashing a magnificent maiden Test century. Najmul Hossain Shanto played a rock-solid hand of 84 to anchor the top order, while Mominul Haque suffered heartbreak when he fell agonizingly short of his half-century on 49. Though Shadman Islam and Mushfiqur Rahim threw away promising starts, this overall batting display has firmly put the Tigers in the driver's seat, with just two batters getting out on single-digit scores.

3.36 am GMT - Advantage Bangladesh - It's a fairly rare sight to see Australia conceding a lead of 220 or more in Test cricket. In the recent past at least, that simply hasn't happened. But a number nine ranked Test nation, Bangladesh, has brought the Aussies, the number one ranked team in Test cricket, dare we say, on their knees.

All set to get underway on Day 4 in Darwin. Sunny skies welcome the umpires and the players. Shanto leads his troops out to the middle as Bangladesh spread themselves to take their fielding spots. Alex Carey and Cameron Green walk out to the crease as Australia's overnight batting pair. A very crucial first hour is on cards, folks. And the tourists are starting off with the spin of Taijul Islam. Green is on strike. A slip and silly point in place. Here we go...

What would a Bangladesh win mean? Still early days to jump to that conclusion. But that would mean losing against a side that lost each of their past two red-ball matches by an innings - to the might of Zimbabwe and to the tyros of a Cricket Australia XI. In historical terms, this would be an unexpected home defeat to rank with that to the West Indies in Brisbane in 2024. But if Australia are to turn things around from here, their middle and lower order need to unleash an epic rearguard. Say, at the very least another 150-200 runs from here. Looks very difficult but not impossible at all. So hop along as the first ball of this penultimate or the deciding day is not far away.

Technical deficiencies exposed - What the Bangladeshi bowlers have managed in these three days is expose batting vulnerabilities in the Aussie top order, still hunting for a decent start. The reason? Maybe it’s because the home batters are used to facing pace and bounce, and there’s precious little of either on this slow Darwin deck. There’s not much genuine heat in the Bangladeshi attack either. Hasan Mahmud, Ebadot, even Taskin - none of them are bowling bazookas. Mid-130s at best. But the execution has been spot on, relentless and disciplined. Having watched the tourists bat with firm technique and plenty of patience for three days, the contrast has been stark. Bangladesh trusted the basics - playing late, leaving well, building partnerships session by session. Australia, by comparison, have looked scratchy against modest pace, edges flying and footwork going missing at crucial moments.

On the brink of making history - Bangladesh have ticked off roughly 70 percent of what’s needed to script something unthinkable. They have absolutely earned every right to believe they can bundle the Aussies out without conceding that lead - especially given how well they have bowled throughout this match. They are undoubtedly in the stronger position, but wickets are what they need more urgently right now, more than the scoreline alone suggests. They will be aiming to run through this Aussie batting in the morning session itself, armed with Hasan Mahmud, who’s having the time of his life with 8 wickets already in the bag for the Test. But with the deck expected to do a fair bit more for the spinners as it wears, the likes of Mehidy and Taijul - who have had slim pickings so far - will need to earn their keep from here.

Final day? Well, it’s still 50-50 to come to that conclusion. Australia were still stuck over a hundred runs adrift when Smith copped his marching orders. But Alex Carey walked out to join Green, who incredibly rode his luck when an inside edge clipped his leg stump without so much as budging the bail, early in the evening session. The pair batted out the rest of the day without too much drama, and looking much assured. Carey (19) and Green (43) are the not-out pair, stitching together a valuable 39-run stand. And they will still fancy their chances of making Bangladesh bat again. But on a Darwin pitch turning more docile by the session, they will  need to bat out of their skins to set the tourists any kind of target worth defending - a scenario that would’ve sounded like a bad joke to anyone following the world’s number one side a week ago.

Kangaroos copping a hiding - It’s a fair dinkum rare sight, this - the Aussies getting done over for three days on the trot in their own backyard. The first two days were an out-and-out belting, with Bangladesh outbowling and outbatting the hosts at every turn. Moving Day offered them a little bit of daylight, a small ray of hope. But by stumps on day three, even that had been snuffed out, and the Baggy Greens found themselves further up the creek than when the day began. The Aussies still find themselves 67 runs adrift, four wickets down already, with plenty left to untangle. In short, Bangladesh remain in pole position and have the hosts firmly on the ropes. On that note, hello and welcome to our coverage of Day 4 from Darwin.

... DAY 4 ...

Pitch slowing but runs still on offer - While the pitch is visibly breaking up and showing clear signs of slowing down, it remains a decent deck for batting without any erratic demons. Runs are still very much there for the taking if a batter is willing to apply himself and show tight discipline. Even so, Bangladesh remain head and shoulders ahead in this contest, and the penultimate day might just portray a clear picture of who is looking likely to cross the finish line. Day 4 of this contest will resume on Sunday, 16th August, and the first ball is scheduled to be bowled at 12.30 am GMT. Tune in as Australia fight for survival before attacking themselves, while Bangladesh hunt for a historic victory. But for now, you can switch tabs to follow all the updates from the first Test between Sri Lanka and India. Cheers!

Carey and Green fight to keep hopes alive - Following the top-order collapse, Alex Carey joined Cameron Green in the middle to steady the rocking ship. The duo showed immense resilience to survive the final testing hours of the day, stitching together an unbeaten 39-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Australia still trail by a significant margin, and it will require a sturdy effort from the lower order tomorrow to set Bangladesh a target that their bowlers can fight to defend.

Promising starts wasted - Barring Jake Weatherald, who perished for a duck in the opening exchanges, Australia's top-order batters managed to get themselves set but failed to capitalize. Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, and Travis Head all looked locked in during their respective stays at the crease. However, all three threw away promising starts, failing to convert them into the big scores that Australia desperately needed to bring things under control.

8.01 am GMT - STUMPS ON DAY 3 - Day 3 undoubtedly belonged to Bangladesh as the visitors firmly tightened their grip on the Test match. After frustrating the Australian bowlers early in the day to stretch their first-innings lead to a massive 228 runs, the Tigers turned up the heat with the ball. They ran through Australia’s top order with precision, leaving the hosts under immense pressure at 161 for 4 by the close of play, trailing by another 67 runs.