Tigers still hold the upper hand despite Australia's stubborn resistance
Bangladesh closed day three of the Darwin Test firmly ahead on Saturday, despite a battling response from Australia's middle order.
Cameron Green and Alex Carey guided the hosts to 161 for four at stumps, with their unbeaten stand of 39 leaving Australia 67 runs behind Bangladesh's first innings total.
Green remained unbeaten on 43 and Carey on 19, having steadied the innings through a tense final session. Green did survive a scare on 12, when a Taskin Ahmed delivery took the inside edge, the ball hit his pad before touching the stumps without removing the bails.
Barring that let-off, their resistance meant Bangladesh went to stumps without the breakthrough they had been searching for before the close of play.
Before that stand, the Tigers had threatened to run away with the contest. Taijul Islam struck first, bowling Marnus Labuschagne for 31, before Mehidy Hasan Miraz removed Steven Smith for 44 with a sharp return catch, reducing Australia to 122 for four and 106 runs adrift.
Hasan Mahmud had earlier given Bangladesh the ideal start with the new ball, removing both openers cheaply. Jake Weatherald fell without scoring, bowled in the second over, before Travis Head edged an attempted cut onto his stumps for 17, handing Hasan his eighth wicket of the match.
The double strike made Hasan only the second Bangladeshi bowler to dismiss both opening batters in each innings of the same Test, following Robiul Islam's effort against Zimbabwe back in 2013. Smith and Labuschagne both survived early scares before settling into a watchful stand of their own.
Bangladesh's innings had ended shortly after lunch, bowled out for 426 in reply to Australia's first innings. Mehidy Hasan Miraz's composed 65 helped the tail add 75 valuable runs for the last four wickets, stretching Bangladesh's lead to 228 before Josh Hazlewood removed the final man to wrap up the innings.
Hazlewood finished with figures of six for 89 in the innings, and his removal of Miraz brought up his 300th Test wicket. He became only the ninth Australian bowler to reach the landmark, with all four of Australia's frontline attack now past 300 Test wickets apiece.
The total stands as Bangladesh's second-highest in Tests against Australia, just short of the 427 they made in the first innings of the 2006 Fatullah Test, built on Tanzid Hasan Tamim's century, Najmul Hossain Shanto's 84 and a half-century from Miraz among other contributions.
Bangladesh still hold the upper hand heading into day four, but Australia's middle order has given the hosts reason for confidence. A productive final session between Green and Carey means the tourists resume with momentum, even as Bangladesh search for early wickets to reassert control of the contest.