Bangladesh hold a commanding position in the first Test against Australia at Darwin as the match enters its fourth day. Australia's second innings stands at 161 for four wickets at stumps on Day 3, leaving the visitors trailing by 67 runs with four batters still to come. Cameron Green remains unbeaten on 43 from 86 balls, while Alex Carey is on 19 from 50 balls as the Australian middle order attempts to build a competitive total.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who scored 65 in Bangladesh's first-innings total of 426, has identified the opening session on Day 4 as crucial to his team's chances of victory. The all-rounder took Steven Smith's wicket in Australia's second innings and believes early breakthroughs will determine the match outcome. Speaking about Bangladesh's bowling plans, Miraz outlined the team's strategy for the critical phase ahead.
"We are playing on a good wicket so all we want to do is bowl in the right areas. We have to work hard for each wicket. We had to do a lot to get those four wickets today. We are trying to give away as few runs as possible. If we can take at least three or four wickets within these [67] runs, then we won't have a difficult target coming up," Miraz said.
Bangladesh's bowling priorities for Day 4
Bangladesh's first-innings performance set the foundation for their strong position. Tanzid Hasan scored 101 while Shanto contributed 84 runs to help Bangladesh reach 426. Australia's Josh Hazlewood took six wickets for 89 runs but could not prevent Bangladesh from building a substantial lead of 228 runs.
Miraz acknowledged that Australia still has experienced batters in the lineup and that taking additional wickets early will be vital to preventing the hosts from mounting a comeback. The all-rounder emphasised the importance of disciplined bowling and maintaining pressure throughout the opening session on Sunday.
"We want to give them as few runs as possible. They have a lot of good batters still remaining so getting at least three more wickets is our first priority. I don't want to predict the future, but we must own the first session on day four," Miraz said.