Bangladesh have taken a giant stride towards a historic maiden Test victory over Australia, closing the third day in Darwin with the hosts hanging on at 161 for 4 in their second innings, still 67 runs behind the tourists' commanding 228-run first-innings lead. The day belonged to both the visitors' relentless lower-order batting and an Australian fast bowler reaching a personal landmark, as Josh Hazlewood claimed his 300th Test wicket on his return to the format.

After chasing the game for two straight days, Australia enjoyed a better Day 3 with both bat and ball, but that did little to slow Bangladesh, who batted for 138 overs — the most by any visiting side in the last seven years — to post 426 and take control of the contest.

Bangladesh grind out a commanding lead

Australia began the day well when Hazlewood trapped Hasan Mahmud LBW, ending the fast bowler's 92-ball stay that spanned nearly three hours. Mahmud, who had taken six wickets in Australia's first innings, had played an invaluable role with the bat too, adding 46 with Mehidy Hasan Miraz for the seventh wicket.

Taijul Islam then survived 23 balls before Hazlewood had him caught at gully — not before the left-armer had sent Hazlewood over square leg for six, drawing huge cheers from the crowd. Bangladesh kept ticking away and adding distance between themselves and Australia. Their final four first-innings wickets added 118 runs from 52.3 overs, 75 of those coming on the third morning to push their lead beyond 200 for the first time in an overseas Test.

Mehidy's vigil ended on 65 when Hazlewood induced a wild swing and a nick, giving the fast bowler his 300th Test wicket. The off-spinner batted for almost 50 overs with the tail as Bangladesh stretched their advantage, the innings built around a maiden Test century from Tanzid Hasan, with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy also contributing half-centuries.

Hazlewood's 300th wicket and a remarkable Australian first

Hazlewood's landmark arrived on a day he took all four wickets that fell after lunch, wrapping up the innings two overs after removing Mehidy by dismissing Ebadot Hossain to complete both his 300th Test wicket and his 14th five-wicket haul. He finished with excellent figures of 6 for 89 on his return to Test cricket.

The 34-year-old became the ninth Australian bowler to claim 300 wickets in the format, adding his name to an exclusive list that includes Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. His achievement has also created a remarkable first for Australian Test cricket: Australia now have four bowlers in their current playing group with at least 300 Test wickets each, and no other Test team has had four such bowlers play together after all of them reached the milestone.

Hazlewood reached the mark while maintaining an impressive career average of 24.02. Among Australia's nine 300-wicket bowlers, only three have better figures — Glenn McGrath at 21.64, Pat Cummins at 22.21 and Dennis Lillee at 23.92 — while his 14 five-wicket hauls reflect the consistency he has maintained throughout his Test career.

Bangladesh strike before Tea

With a sizeable lead behind them, Bangladesh kept the pressure on. Hasan Mahmud removed both Australian openers in similar fashion before Tea. Jake Weatherald fell for a duck in the second over, inside-edging an away-going delivery onto his stumps. Travis Head struck Mahmud for two fours in the sixth over but fell in the bowler's next, chopping one back onto his stumps — Head, interestingly, putting the bail back in its groove before walking off.

Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne then put on 36, with Labuschagne appearing desperate to bat himself out of a rut that has now stretched to nearly three years without a Test hundred. He reached 31 before playing all around a full delivery from Taijul and becoming the third Australian batter to be bowled.

Green and Carey hold firm

Smith and Cameron Green steadied things with an unfussy 49-run stand, but Smith was undone by a momentary lapse of concentration. Bowling from well behind the crease, Mehidy got the experienced batter to bunt a full delivery straight back to him for a simple return catch, leaving Smith to fall for 44 with more than 15 overs still remaining.

Green and Alex Carey then ensured there were no further setbacks, seeing Australia through to Stumps and keeping them just alive in a contest that has consistently slipped away from them. Australia also made life harder for themselves in the field, dropping five catches across the innings, though Bangladesh arrived in Darwin having been heavily beaten by a Cricket Australia XI in their tour game.

Brief scores: Australia 198 & 161/4 (Steve Smith 44, Cameron Green 43*) trail Bangladesh 426 (Tanzid Hasan Tamim 101, Najmul Hossain Shanto 84, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 65; Josh Hazlewood 6-89) by 67 runs.