A career-best seven-wicket haul from Mark Steketee kept Queensland in the game as South Australia threatened to build an insurmountable lead on day two at Adelaide Oval.

Half-centuries to Harry Nielsen and Travis Head put South Australia in a position to push to a first-innings lead of more than 200 but Steketee took the first two key wickets of the morning, including Head, before wrapping up the tail.

Queensland lost both openers in their second innings before Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja saw them safely to stumps, with a deficit of 65, although Khawaja was very fortunate not to be dismissed in the last over the day, given not out despite clearly gloving a ball into the gully. The umpire deemed the catch came off his arm as he fended at a brute of a delivery from Nathan McAndrew, who went unrewarded in the evening session despite bowling superbly.

Earlier, Steketee broke through in the third over of the morning clean bowling Henry Hunt with a cracking delivery that angled in and nipped away to clip the top of off. Head then accelerated to continue his phenomenal form. He raced to his third consecutive half-century having made 163 and 230 in his previous two innings across the Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup. But a third consecutive century was thwarted when he offered a return catch to Steketee off a leading edge.

Alex Carey played fluently striking five boundaries in his 32 but fell in an odd manner checking a pull shot off James Bazley straight to square leg to leave the hosts five down and just nine runs ahead.

But Nielsen and McAndrew formed an excellent partnership putting on 101 for the sixth wicket. McAndrew was rock solid in defence while Nielsen did the bulk of the scoring. However, the pair both fell to the second new ball to trigger a collapse of 5 for 18 that ended South Australia's first innings with a lead of just 128.

Nielsen chipped a ball innocuously to square leg off Jack Wildermuth to fall for 71 while McAndrew edged Wildermuth to Joe Burns at second slip. Steketee returned to clean up the tail proving too quick and too good for South Australia's last three to finish with 7 for 44. It was just his third five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.

Brendan Doggett made an early breakthrough in the Bulls' second innings trapping Burns lbw before Bryce Street and Labuschagne dug in against some quality pace bowling from the South Australia quicks. Street faced 77 deliveries for his 23 before falling to Daniel Worrall. Labuschagne finished 22 not out from 79 balls with just one boundary to his name, with Queensland scoring just three boundaries in total in 35 overs.