Aussies fell behind as Tigers head to lunch with 219-run lead

Bangladesh headed into lunch on the third day of the Darwin Test match against Australia with a commanding lead of 219 runs.

Bangladesh continues an incredibly strong performance in Australia. Their dominance remained intact at the end of the first session on Day 3. A fine partnership between Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taskin Ahmed stretched their lead to 219 runs. Bangladesh reached 417 for 8 at lunch, with Miraz unbeaten on 65 and Taskin on 12.

Earlier, Miraz scored his 12th Test fifty on the fifth ball of the 126th over. He became the third Bangladeshi batter in this innings to reach fifty on Australian soil. Teammates applauded him from the dressing room to celebrate the milestone.

Miraz started the day on 32. He completed his half-century off 117 balls, hitting 5 boundaries. He continues to maintain Bangladesh's dominance at Marrara Oval in Darwin. Miraz had previously scored 109 runs in a warm-up match against the Cricket Australia XI. Bangladesh, who were bowled out for 54 runs in the second innings of that match, are now dominating strong opposition.

Later, the first ball of the 129th over, delivered as a bouncer by Pat Cummins, edged off Taskin Ahmed's bat for a boundary. That shot took Bangladesh's total past 400 runs. Bangladesh's lead also crossed 200 runs.

On the very next ball, Steven Smith dropped Taskin off a similar delivery. Had he taken the catch, Smith would have claimed the record for the most catches in Test cricket history.

Bangladesh had resumed the day at 351 for 6. Within the first hour of play, Hasan Mahmud and Taijul Islam were dismissed.

-SA