Tanzid Hasan showed great maturity and application and Darwin as he notched up his maiden Test ton in only his second Test match to keep Bangladesh in firm control of this first Test match after the end of the second day’s play. Tanzid Hasan who made his debut against Pakistan earlier this year, showed great maturity as Bangladesh ended the day with over 150 runs ahead and still 4 wickets in hand. He was ably supported by captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 84 and Mominul Haque’s 49 while Mehidy Hasan Miraz is still there on 32*.
It was a hard toil for the Australian bowlers with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood getting 2 wickets each while captain Pat Cummins got one wicket and Nathan Lyon got the other. But it was a real hard grind for the Aussie bowlers as the pitch got slightly easier to bat on compared to Day 1. That being said, Bangladesh are dictating terms in Darwin.
Mominul Haque departs for 49 but Tanzid Hasan’s solid knock drives Bangladesh forward in the morning session
Tanzid Hasan and Mominul Haque resumed proceedings for Bangladesh while Beau Webster came into the attack for the first time in this Test match. Webster bowled a good first over. Pat Cummins had the ball in hand from the other end. Mominul flicked the ball away to backward square leg for the first boundary of the day as the 100 came up for Bangladesh in 25.2 overs. Mitchell Starc came back into the attack next. He bowled a probing over.
Cummins continued and bowled a decent over. Starc bowled a maiden. Cummins kept things under check as Bangladesh were 111/1 in 30 overs. Starc continued as Tanzid broke the shackles with a defence that got the outside edge and away to the third man fence for a boundary. Cummins delivered a maiden over. Starc continued as Australia burnt a review against Tanzid for caught behind down the leg side as the ball had brushed the pads.
Josh Hazlewood came back into the attack next. He bowled a good probing over. Beau Webster came back into the attack. He bowled a maiden. Hazlewood overstepped before Mominul opened the bat face and square drove the ball past backward point for a boundary. Tanzid soon reached his maiden Test fifty in 102 balls. Webster continued and bowled a quiet over as Bangladesh reached 129/1 in 37 overs when players took the Drinks Break in the morning session.
Hazlewood continued after the break and bowled a decent over. Webster continued as Tanzid broke the shackles by using his feet and going well over long-off for the maximum down the ground. The 100-run stand came up between the duo. Hazlewood continued and finally got the wicket Australia wanted as he dismissed Mominul for 49 off 95 balls with 8 fours to his name as the outside edge was caught by Carey easily. Najmul Hossain Shanto, the captain came out to bat next.
Webster continued as Tanzid got a triple with a big heave through mid-off. Shanto got a triple down the ground past Cummins at mid-off. Cummins returned as Shanto got a triple to Head at mid-off. Nathan Lyon came into the attack for the first time on Day 2. Smith dropped a very tough catch at first slip off Lyon as Tanzid got another reprieve. Cummins continued as Tanzid transferred his weight and carved it behind point for a boundary. Lyon continued as Tanzid got a triple towards the square leg region.
Cummins continued and bowled a tight over. Lyon too bowled a decent over. Cameron Green came back for another spell. Shanto took him on by hitting a straight drive down the ground for a boundary and then pulled it square of the wicket for a boundary towards deep midwicket. Lyon continued and bowled another decent over. Green bowled a better over.
Nathan Lyon came to bowl the final over before Lunch as Shanto hammered the ball down the ground past long-on for a boundary. Bangladesh reached 181/2 in 51 overs with Tanzid Hasan unbeaten on 74 off 144 balls alongside captain Najmul Hossain Shanto unbeaten on 28 off 40 balls as Bangladesh at this stage trailed Australia by just 17 runs with 8 wickets in hand at Lunch on Day 2.
Tanzid Hasan falls after completing maiden Test ton; Najmul Hossain Shanto’s solid half-century keeps Bangladesh in the ascendancy in the afternoon session
Tanzid Hasan and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto resumed the proceedings for Bangladesh after Lunch while Josh Hazlewood had the ball in hand for Australia. Tanzid pressed forward and creamed the ball through the covers for a boundary. The 50-run partnership came up between Tanzid and Shanto. Mitchell Starc had the ball in hand from the other end. He bowled a decent over. Hazlewood continued as Shanto pulled it away past leg gully for a boundary.
Starc continued as Tanzid rocked back and played the late cut between gully and deep backward point for a boundary as the 200 came up for Bangladesh in 54.2 overs. Bangladesh also went into the lead in the first innings. Hazlewood continued and bowled a decent over. Cummins continued and bowled a probing over. Mitchell Starc changed ends as Shanto showed his class with a punch past backward point for a boundary. Cummins continued and bowled a decent over.
Nathan Lyon came back into the attack and bowled a decent over. Cummins continued and bowled a decent over. Lyon continued and almost dismissed Tanzid who played a rash shot which landed at no man’s land towards long-off. Cummins continued and bowled a decent over. Shanto then brought up his 16th Test fifty off 74 balls. Then came the moment all of Bangladesh were waiting for as Tanzid got to his maiden Test ton in 188 balls as he became the first Bangladeshi batter to score a ton on Australian soil. Bangladesh were 230/2 in 64 overs when Drinks took place in the afternoon session.
Beau Webster returned to the attack post the break and he bowled a decent over. Lyon continued and got his man as Tanzid threw it away as he tried to go down the ground and mistimed it to Starc who picked up a tumbling catch at long-off. Mushfiqur Rahim, the veteran walked out to bat next and got off the mark straightaway. Webster continued as Rahim pressed forward and drove through the covers for a boundary. Lyon continued and kept it tight.
Webster continued as Shanto drilled it down the ground past mid-on for a boundary. Lyon continued as Rahim creamed it past covers for a boundary. Hazlewood returned to the attack as Bangladesh’s lead crossed 50 runs. Lyon continued as Shanto swept it down on one knee towards backward square leg for a boundary. Hazlewood continued and bowled a decent over. Lyon continued as Shanto took him on and slammed it down the ground over long-on for the maximum.
Travis Head came into the attack next. He bowled a good first over. Lyon continued as Rahim swept it away past square leg for a boundary. Shanto got a triple in the gap between deep midwicket and mid-on. Head continued as the 50-run stand came up between Shanto and Mushfiqur. Nathan Lyon came to bowl the final over before Tea as Rahim cut the ball hard through the point region for a boundary. Bangladesh reached 286/3 in 78 overs with Shanto unbeaten on 79 off 114 balls alongside Rahim unbeaten on 26 off 35 balls. Bangladesh led by 88 runs with 7 wickets in hand at this stage at Tea on Day 2.
Australia strike back with quick wickets with the second new ball; Mehidy Hasan Miraz & Hasan Mahmud grind to keep them at bay at Stumps
Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim resumed the proceedings for Bangladesh after Tea while Marnus Labuschagne came into the attack for the first time in the innings. Marnus bowled a good first over. Nathan Lyon came to bowl from the other end and he kept the runs under check. The second new ball was immediately taken when available to Australia as Mitchell Starc came back into the attack. Starc bowled a fiery first over with the new cherry testing the batters.
Josh Hazlewood shared the new ball from the other end and gifted 4 byes to the batting side as a gift. He overstepped as well. But the new ball did the trick as Hazlewood managed to find the outside edge of Shanto to second slip where Steve Smith took an easy catch. Shanto fell for 84 off 126 balls with 7 fours and one six to his name. Litton Das came out to bat next. Starc continued as Rahim got a triple through covers to bring up the 300 for Bangladesh as the lead went past the 100-run mark.
Hazlewood continued as Rahim drove the ball between gully and backward point for a boundary. Starc continued and struck again as he removed Litton Das for a duck off 12 balls as another edge carried to Steve Smith at second slip who made no mistake. Mehidy Hasan Miraz came out to bat next and got off the mark straightaway. Cummins came back into the attack for the first time with the second new ball as the edge was found off Rahim with Smith taking a good catch at second slip as he equalled Joe Root’s tally of 218 catches in Test cricket.
Hasan Mahmud came out to bat next and defended the ball to get the outside edge through gully and third slip for a boundary. Starc continued as Miraz pressed forward and went for the drive and got the thick outside edge through third slip and gully for a boundary. Cummins continued and bowled a maiden over. Hazlewood changed ends and bowled a quiet over. Cummins bowled a maiden over.
Hazlewood continued as Mehidy slashed hard and the ball flew overs the third man region for a boundary. Lyon returned to the attack and bowled a decent over. Cameron Green returned to the attack as well and delivered a maiden. Lyon bowled a decent over as Bangladesh were 324/6 in 94 overs at Drinks in the evening session. Green continued after the break and kept the run flow under check. Lyon continued as Mahmud leant forward and drove it through the covers for a boundary. Australia burnt a review against Mahmud for caught behind off Lyon.
Green continued and bowled a decent over. Lyon bowled a maiden. Starc came back into the attack and bowled a decent over. Lyon too bowled at the right lines and lengths. Starc continued and bowled a decent over. Webster came back into the attack and bowled a quiet over. Starc continued as Mehidy drove the ball through the covers for a boundary. Webster continued and bowled a decent over as well.
Cummins came back into the attack and bowled a decent over as well. Marnus Labuschagne returned for a fresh spell. He bowled a probing over. Pat Cummins too kept things under check. Marnus continued as the 350 came up for Bangladesh in 107.3 overs. The lead now was over 150. Lyon came back for another over and bowled a tight over. Marnus bowled the last over of the day and on the last ball of the day, Mehidy Hasan Miraz was put down by Cameron Green at backward point while batting on 32*.
Bangladesh reached 351/6 in 110 overs with Mehidy Hasan Miraz unbeaten on 32 off 73 balls with 3 fours to his name while Hasan Mahmud unbeaten on 13 off 76 balls with 2 fours to his name as they lead by 153 runs with 4 wickets in hand and in control of the Test match. 16 extras given by the fielding side.
It was a hard toil for the Australian bowlers. Mitchell Starc finished the day with figures of 2/68 in 21 overs. Josh Hazlewood finished the day with 2/68 in 20 overs. Pat Cummins finished the day with figures of 1/50 in 20 overs. Nathan Lyon finished the day with figures of 1/92 in 25 overs. Beau Webster bowled 10 overs for 28 runs. Travis Head finished with 3 runs in 2 overs. Marnus Labuschagne finished with 4 runs in 4 overs. Australia up against it in Darwin.
What Lies Ahead on Day 3
So, with a 153-run lead with 4 wickets in hand, Bangladesh will look to add more runs to the tally and put further pressure on Australia. They will want the lead to be close to 200 runs. Australia needs wickets to limit the deficit they shall face and then bat a whole lot better than the first innings. The pitch conditions seem to have eased out compared to Day 1.
Let’s see what Day 3 the moving day has in-store for us.
Also Read: AUS vs BAN: Hasan Mahmud’s 6-Wicket Haul Puts Bangladesh In Command