Tanzid Hasan struck his maiden Test century in only his second match as Bangladesh moved into a commanding position against top-ranked Australia, reaching 351-6 at stumps on Friday in the opening Test of the Top End series.
Tanzid brought up his hundred with a single off Nathan Lyon from 188 deliveries. However, after a patient and resilient knock, he added only one more run before lofting a delivery from the veteran Australian spinner to Mitchell Starc at long-off soon after reaching the milestone.
The opener played a key role in Bangladesh's strong first-innings position, sharing two crucial partnerships. He combined with Mominul Haque for a 102-run stand for the second wicket before adding 93 with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto for the third wicket.
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Shanto continued his impressive innings, scoring 84 off 126 balls, but was among three Bangladesh batters dismissed during a four-over spell shortly after Australia took the second new ball.
Bangladesh had resumed the day at 96-1, trailing Australia's first-innings total of 198 by 102 runs after bowling out the hosts on the opening day. By stumps, the visitors had turned that deficit into a 153-run lead, with four wickets still in hand.
Playing their first Test in Australia since 2003, Bangladesh maintained the same discipline with the bat that they had shown with the ball on the opening day.
Mehidy Hassan Miraz, unbeaten on 32, and Hasan Mahmud, on 13 not out, then added an unbroken 43-run partnership for the seventh wicket to take Bangladesh to stumps in a position few would have anticipated before the series began.
Australia's much-discussed "Big Four" of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Starc and Lyon have so far struggled to make a decisive impact against Bangladesh's batters in the warm, tropical conditions of far north Australia.
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The two-Test "Top End" series marks the beginning of a demanding 12-month schedule for Australia, which includes 20 Test matches and tours of South Africa, India and England.
