A century from opener Mark Cosgrove and an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership have put Tasmania in complete control of their Sheffield Shield match against South Australia in Hobart.

Shortly after tea on Wednesday, the Tigers had moved to 6-372 with Tim Paine (65 not out) and Evan Gulbis (79 not out) piling misery on the Redbacks with an unbeaten 134-run stand after Cosgrove made 110.

Leading by 160 on the first innings, Tasmania look poised to deny the Redbacks their first Shield final appearance in 18 years after the visitors had entered the match looking likely to participate in the decider – and a real chance of hosting if they could come away from Bellerive Oval with maximum points.

But a lacklustre batting performance on Tuesday followed by wayward bowling from the four-pronged pace attack has allowed the Tigers to climb right on top as they look to round out an otherwise disappointing season in style.

Resuming this morning on 2-145 in pursuit of South Australia’s first innings of 212, Cosgrove and Ben Dunk (72) carried on in the same manner they’d finished day one, their 175-run partnership broken when Dunk spooned a catch to Tom Cooper from Chadd Sayers’ bowling.

Sayers (4-92) and Gary Putland (2-8) have been the pick of the South Australian attack, taking all six wickets to fall so far, with Sayers taking all three wickets to fall during the first session.

But neither have found the same kind of penetration Tasmanian paceman Jackson Bird did in taking 6-50 on day one, making the Redbacks mediocre batting display all the more telling.

When Cosgrove, Beau Webster (18) and Luke Butterworth (15) fell either side of lunch following Dunk’s dismissal, the Tigers had lost 4-47 and looked to be at risk of wasting the chance to post a commanding first-innings lead.

Acting skipper Paine and Gulbis took over during the afternoon session and ripped the game away from the Redbacks, not allowing the visitors the merest hint of a chance in racking up their century stand in good time.