Australia v Bangladesh: first men’s Test, day three – live
Key events
45th over: Australia 140-4 (Green 34, Carey 7) Taijul races through another over, one run from it.
44th over: Australia 139-4 (Green 34, Carey 6) Mehidy again, off break after left-arm orthodox, a couple of singles from his over. Lots of chatter from Bangladesh around the batters now, they are buzzing.
43rd over: Australia 137-4 (Green 33, Carey 5) Double spin, Taijul Islam now. Carey is almost out lbw sweeping, but gets the underside of his glove on the ball.
42nd over: Australia 136-4 (Green 32, Carey 5) Mehidy to Green, a single first ball, then nothing for Carey the rest of the over. That includes slamming a short wide ball straight to cover, set halfway back to the rope. Missed the buffet.
41st over: Australia 135-4 (Green 31, Carey 5) Just quietly, Cameron Green is building. Working the singles well off Bangladesh’s attack leader, then slides a shot through midwicket for three runs.
The deficit is down to 93.
40th over: Australia 128-4 (Green 26, Carey 3) Just the one run from Mehidy’s over of spin. Carey faces most of it.
39th over: Australia 127-4 (Green 25, Carey 3) Hasan Mahmud now gets a crack at a new batter. Alex Carey is a problem-solver, but it would take one of his best innings to solve this problem. He’s playing very confidently from the get-go, driving the angled ball towards cover repeatedly, eventually getting through the field for two runs.
As much as Smith did look better than the rest today, we did note not long ago that he doesn’t make hundreds in his second innings. Very interesting career, statistically speaking.
38th over: Australia 124-4 (Green 24, Carey 1) Both Bangladesh spinners in the book. Australia down by 104 as Carey comes to the crease.
WICKET! Smith c&b Mehidy Hasan 44, Australia 122-4
Is that the game? Is that the game? Steve Smith is gone, and the Tigers are roaring! What a catch from Mehidy. Good piece of bowling from the off-spinner. He bowls from deeper than usual in his own crease, not as far back as Mark Watt but probably a foot and a half behind the bowling crease on delivery. There is drift with the breeze, and Smith’s attempt to turn the ball to leg instead becomes a leading edge back to the bowler’s right. The ball is dipping, and Mehidy lunges across and down low to grab it as he goes to ground. Great take, the hugest wicket!
37th over: Australia 121-3 (Smith 44, Green 22) A couple of singles from Hasan’s bowling, as he drifts wide of off stump, but he corrects quickly.
Deficit down to 107.
36th over: Australia 118-3 (Smith 43, Green 20) Maiden over from Mehidy to Smith.
35th over: Australia 118-3 (Smith 43, Green 20) Time for Hasan Mahmud to have another crack, the one who might make something happen. The current pair are well set, and if a century stand runs down the deficit, the rest of Australia’s batting can set some sort of lead. You wouldn’t want to be chasing many as Bangladesh, given the pressure of possibility. So they really need to find a way past Smith. Hasan bowling to only one slip for Green, and that fielder is standing wider than first slip.
34th over: Australia 116-3 (Smith 42, Green 19) Three singles from Mehidy’s over, and that is the drinks break. Australia down by 112.
33rd over: Australia 113-3 (Smith 41, Green 17) Taskin must be pleading for fate to give him some kindness. Does get the inside edge of Smith’s bat, squeezed between the batters legs safely. Smith tries another bang through point, I’m never sure that his concentration is at its best when he’s hitting off side with that sort of power. No-ball from the sixth delivery, dot ball from the seventh.
32nd over: Australia 111-3 (Smith 41, Green 16) Lots of chat from Litton behind the stumps as Mehidy bowls a maiden. Australia are still 117 runs in debt.
31st over: Australia 111-3 (Smith 41, Green 16) Oh my word! Taskin has hit the stumps… but Green survives. That should have been the third chop-on of the innings. Taskin with angle and a bit of movement in, Green pushes forward to defend, takes the inside edge, back on to his thigh pad, then clips the outside of his leg stump, but the bails stay on. Not only that, the deflection carries on fine for four runs. What a reprieve.
30th over: Australia 104-3 (Smith 38, Green 11) Similar quietness from Mehidy to Smith, the spinner working at the stumps consistently, making Smith play each ball. The last of them is driven for a single, the only score.
29th over: Australia 103-3 (Smith 38, Green 11) Taskin is trying to put the clamps on Green. A bit of breeze behind the bowler to help him along. Lands the ball on the spot six times out of six, working away on an off-stump line.
28th over: Australia 103-3 (Smith 38, Green 11) A change in spinners as well, Mehidy’s off breaks in place of the left-arm stuff. Smith gets his foot out of the way and slots one through the leg side with a straight bat, but there’s a fielder back to keep him to one.
27th over: Australia 100-3 (Smith 37, Green 9) Ebadot off, Taskin on, good call. Bangladesh needing to figure out their next path to a wicket. Cam Green has been very quiet thus far. Gets a nice square punch away for two. Then times a better one that goes for three.
26th over: Australia 94-3 (Smith 36, Green 4) Lots of chatter from the wicketkeeper encouraging Taijul Islam to keep at the batters. Two singles from the over.
25th over: Australia 92-3 (Smith 35, Green 3) Gee, Smith is batting on a different pitch, same as the first innings. Waits for errors, twice picks off Ebadot through point to the boundary!
Australia are 133 behind.
24th over: Australia 83-3 (Smith 27, Green 3) Taijul probing away, Smith looking unfussed. Remember when he was supposedly struggling with a “weakness” against left-arm spin? Didn’t really pan out.
23rd over: Australia 79-3 (Smith 24, Green 2) Ebadot doing an ok holding job, no menace in it though. Funny that it’s a surface where it’s hard to see where the next wicket is coming from, yet the Australians have coughed up three already.
22nd over: Australia 77-3 (Smith 23, Green 1) Appeal for a catch down the leg side, Bangladesh discuss it while Smith tries to goad them into taking it. “Go on, use it. Waste another one. What do you think?” They ignore him, luckily given the replay shows a big gap. Smith plays a violent shot next ball, though it’s stopped at cover, really rifling the ball through that one.
21st over: Australia 76-3 (Smith 22, Green 1) That’s a deficit of 155 for Australia at the start of this over, with Ebadot bowling to Smith in the first instance, then Cam Green, another player who needs a score. Weatherald and Labuschagne are the other two, who’ve already missed their chance. Green off the mark to fine leg easily.
WICKET! Labuschagne b Taijul 31, Australia 73-3
20th over: Australia 73-3 (Smith 20) Huge moment! Last ball of the over, Taijul Islam knocks over Labuschagne just as the No 3 was starting to look good. Smith has taken runs from the over, a boundary through cover first ball, but the last ball is the one that tilts the balance. Taijul Islam has flighted a few deliveries previously, then sends this one burning through at faster pace. The trajectory from around the wicket takes the ball in towards Labuschagne’s feet, and as he tries to work that ball through the leg-side, his foot shifts out of the way and a path towards leg stump is opened up. The flatter and faster delivery confuses Labuschagne’s timing, he misses his flick, and he loses leg stump. Bangladesh’s spinners are finally into the wickets.
19th over: Australia 66-2 (Labuschagne 30, Smith 14) The runs are coming pretty nicely for Australia now, and much better for Labuschagne. A couple into the leg side, three through cover, then a Smith single. Ebadot goes for six from the over.
18th over: Australia 60-2 (Labuschagne 25, Smith 13) Back after the tea break, and Taskin Ahmed will be the bowler. Starts nicely, going past Smith’s edge, then there’s a run to cover that Marnus for some reason doesn’t want, but Smith overrules him and runs through anyway. Plenty of time. Gets the strike back after a Labuschagne three, then Smith belts a pull for four!
Tea: Australia trail by 177 at 51-2
Bangladesh right on top! It all comes down to Smith really, whether he can script another big innings, and in the first instance whether Labuschagne can come good alongside him. Smith doesn’t have many third-innings hundreds, historically, but when he does they’ve come early in a Test, and here it’s only day three.
17th over: Australia 51-2 (Labuschagne 21, Smith 8) There will be one more over from Hasan, with tea to give him a rest afterwards, and he draws a miscued pull from Marnus first ball, but it lands safely out at midwicket.
16th over: Australia 46-2 (Labuschagne 18, Smith 8) Spin earlier than we saw it in the first dig. Taijul Islam with his left-arm orthos. In at the stumps, sliding the ball on at the right-handers. Two singles.
15th over: Australia 44-2 (Labuschagne 17, Smith 7) Another over in which the first score comes from the last ball. Labuschagne is leaving and defending before working two runs to leg. Is the sixth over of Hasan’s spell his last for now? He has 2 for 15.
