David Warner leads Australia revival in Dhaka

(Photo: Getty Images)

By Adam Ellis

Stumps on Day Three in Dhaka and David Warner has dragged a too close to call encounter in Australia’s favour with an unbeaten 74*.

Just like in the first innings, when Australia were bowled all out for 217, Warner had to watch on as opening partner Matthew Renshaw departed early on to bring Usman Khawaja to the crease.

The no 3 lasted no longer than Renshaw before losing his wicket, managing to equal his first innings score of 1 until Shakib Al Hasan found the top edge for Taijul Islam to track and catch at deep backward square.

Welcoming Steve Smith to the crease, Warner then turned the tide on the Bangladeshis by hitting 11 fours and 1 six to drive Australia towards their target of 265.

Smith assisted in the strong finish as Australia scored 40 runs off the last 10 overs to finish the day on 109-2, walking off the square with 25 runs on the board to continue alongside Warner in the morning.

Quite the turnaround from a nervy first innings showing when six batsman were out for single-figure scores, leaving the Australians wobbling at 124-7 until Ashton Agar and Pat Cummins wrestled their way to the 200 mark.

On a pitch that has produced bounce and turn that caused England problems last year, Al Hasan and Nathan Lyon have taken full advantage to create chaos for the batsmen with combined figures of 17-257 with their spin.

As anticipation builds for Day Four, the last word in the first of this two-match series looks set to lie with the bat of Warner – seeking his 19th Test century – or the bowling of Shakib.

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