Tamim disappointed at lost opportunities

It has become so routine that Bangladesh's batting collapse on the third day against Australia did not surprise many. An unplayable delivery, a bad shot, a freak run-out, and a batsman not taking a review resulted in seven wickets falling in 28 overs for 86 runs.

There have been many such disintegrations from a position of strength since last September. It has sometimes cost Bangladesh a game, and on a few occasions, famously against England in Mirpur last year, the bowlers have had to bail them out. Australia would have certainly been chasing more than 265 in the fourth innings had Bangladesh not gone through another all-too-familiar batting collapse.

Bangladesh could still pull off victory on the fourth day but the challenge is stiff. Tamim Iqbal, whose dismissal began the swift slump, said Shakib - caught at cover attempting an inside-out shot - had the right intentions, while Mushfiqur was unlucky.

"If Mushfiqur and Sabbir added 25-30 runs, we would have taken a 300-run lead," Tamim said. "Mushfiqur didn't have much to do with his dismissal. It is hard to say why Sabbir didn't take the review.

"He may have thought it hit his gloves. On the first day, he felt he didn't hit it but he did. It is hard to say what he was thinking. Shakib was looking for runs but if he had waited just a bit more, it would have been better. He did well in the first innings."

Tamim said the 265-run target wasn't satisfactory. "If we were asked couple of days ago, we would have been happy with 260-270 target. We had an opportunity today to make the lead more than 300, so it is slightly disappointing."

Imrul Kayes, Tamim and Mushfiqur might have been unlucky with their dismissals, but Soumya Sarkar, Nasir Hossain and Sabbir were not. Soumya's attempt to clear long-on with 11 balls remaining on the second day seemed unnecessary.

"If he had seen off the day, it may have helped us. He had crossed the difficult phase but unfortunately, he got out," Tamim said. "If he was around this morning, we would have been in a better situation."

While Bangladesh recovered through a big partnership in the first innings, there was none in the second. And if Bangladesh go down 1-0, much of the blame will be on their batsmen.