Australia bundled out for 217

Australia were bundled out for 217 runs as the Tigers took a 43-run first innings lead against the Aussies in the  first test match of the two match Test series in Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Monday.

Australia's lower order, led by Ashton Agar, dragged their side back into the Test as best as they could, but Australia still found themselves with a 43-run first-innings deficit. They will also need to bat last on a pitch already offering some variable bounce; Australia's bowlers will thus need to follow up their batting fight with a strong display with the ball in order to prevent Bangladesh running away with the game.

Agar and Pat Cummins were the key men in the lower order, with a 49-run ninth-wicket partnership that gave Australia some hope. Cummins occupied the crease for 90 deliveries for his 25, before he was bowled by Shakib trying to drive through the off side. Shakib's five-for came when Josh Hazlewood prodded a catch to short leg for 5, leaving Agar unbeaten on 41, an impressive innings given the struggles of some of his top-order colleagues.

There were moments of good fortune for Australia, such as when Cummins skied a chance off Shakib on 11 and saw Shafiul Islam spill a straightforward chance, but the patience shown by Cummins and Agar was for the most part exemplary. They had come together with the score on 144 for 8 in the 44th over; they took the score through to 193 before the stand was broken.

Australia had started the morning on 18 for 3 and further disaster struck when Steven Smith, on 8, danced down the pitch and tried to flick Mehidy through the leg side only to be bowled. That left Australia in major trouble at 33 for 4, but a 69-run partnership from Peter Handscomb and Matt Renshaw steadied the Australians at a key time.

The pitch offered variable bounce for both the spinners and fast men, but while Handscomb and Renshaw found ways to survive and keep the scoreboard ticking over, there was always the sense that a wicket might come soon. Such was the case when Handscomb played right back on his stumps to Taijul Islam and missed a delivery that slid through quickly, and was trapped lbw for 33.

Renshaw seemed set to survive through the session, but in the final over before the break he played for spin that wasn't there and edged a Shakib delivery wide of off stump to slip, where Soumya Sarkar juggled a catch on the second take.

The second session began in similarly disappointing fashion for the Australians, when Matthew Wade was given out lbw off Mehidy by umpire Nigel Llong, and declined to ask for a review. It was a strange decision, given Australia had two reviews remaining, and replays confirmed that the ball would have slid past leg stump and Wade would have been reprieved.

Glenn Maxwell made a confident 23 before he was lured out of his crease by Shakib, who turned the ball past the outside edge and the stumping was completed by Mushfiqur Rahim. Shakib might have had Agar stumped as well, but some exaggerated bounce off the pitch tricked Mushfiqur as it did the batsman.

Cummins survived another close call late in the session when he was given out caught down leg side off Shafiul, but immediately Cummins asked for a review of Aleem Dar's decision, and replays confirmed the ball had brushed his thigh-pad only. It had been a tough day for Dar, who earlier had given Renshaw lbw off Mehidy, only for a review to show the ball would have bounced well over the top.

Source: ESPNcricinfo