Bashar fell agonisingly short of three figures

Bangladesh produced an encouraging display with bat and ball to give themselves a chance of a confidence-boosting win.

Habibul Bashar and Javed Omar shared a second wicket partnership of 146 which enabled them to declare only 26 runs in arrears.

And The Tigers then cut through the home side's top order with pace bowler Mashrafe bin Mortaza taking 2-19 from six overs with the new ball.

Bangladesh resumed on 53-1 and Bashar and Omar soon had the scoreboard ticking over in their contrasting styles.

Bashar raced to his half century off only 54 balls, while Omar took almost three hours to reach the same mark.

Neither survived for long after lunch, however, with Omar first to go for 59 when he was caught off medium pacer Aaron Nye for 59.

All eyes were on Bashar as he moved closer to the first century by a Bangladesh batsman on Australian soil.

He struck 16 fours but it was not to be as he was bowled by Mark Cleary for 99.

Progress was slower thereafter and skipper Khaled Mahmud called a halt after three more wickets went down for 13 runs, including Sanwar Hossain for a useful 28.

Mortaza struck in the sixth over of the students' second innings by dismissing Simon Williams for three, and he also picked up the wicket of Scott Meuleman for 29.

Tareq Aziz bowled Peter Worthington (four) and spinner Mohammad Rafique claimed the fourth scalp when he won an lbw decision against Luke Ronchi (22).