Bangladesh Cricket has been drastically changed since few years. It’s been like a reborn to the game in the country with the current crops punching above their weight to beat some big names, including Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. With almost young team except for Mushfiqur, Shakib, and Mortaza, the team has been developing in all aspects.
Bangladesh is currently playing 2-match Test series against Australia at home. However, the hosts scripted a majestic victory by defeating the visitors in the first Test at Dhaka last week. High on morale from the win, the Tigers posed a serious threat as the Aussies need to win the second Test in order to deny a massive slide in the ICC Test rankings.
To challenge the Bangladeshis on Day 2 of the 2nd Test, Australia had to bat them out. David Warner and Peter Handscomb put up a courageous and resilient stand. But that came at a cost for Handscomb. Battling his way through an extremely crucial passage of play, Peter Handscomb lost 4.5 kilograms during the second day’s play in Chittagong.
Yes, it’s 4.5 kgs.
The right-handed batsman took several breaks as he struggled in the extremely hot and sultry conditions. With the temperature peaking 30 degree Celsius and humidity levels reaching 80 per cent, Handscomb braved extreme conditions to bat through on Day 2 to reply to Bangladesh’s first innings score of 305.
The Australian team doctors rushed to the struggling batsman in the middle with drinks and also placed a wet cloth on his neck and head to help him recover. Lehmann said,
“Really gutsy, Obviously it was pretty hot out there, and we saw that yesterday. You have to work really hard for your runs so, to get through in the way they played, was excellent. They’re in the ice baths now. We’ll leave it with the medical team to get them right for tomorrow (Day Three) but a very special day and, hopefully, tomorrow they can kick on.”
During the innings, Handscomb continuously fell on his knees, nearly throwing up. The on-field umpires, Warner, and even a few Bangladeshi players kept running to him to check on his status. His performance was dubbed as ‘gutsy’, said Australia coach Darren Lehmann.
However, Towards the end of the day’s play, the Melbourne cricketer was so dehydrated that he was unable to stand. But he didn’t give away his wicket and eventually finished the day unbeaten on 69 off 113 balls in Australia’s first innings on Tuesday.
Peter Handscomb walked out to train carrying wicketkeeping pads. Rain came moments later. #BANvAUS pic.twitter.com/QlZvsJsPOS
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) September 2, 2017
Meanwhile, heavy rain delayed the start of the third day’s play in Chittagong on Wednesday. Peter Handscomb (82) looked good but just added 13 runs to the previous day’s score. David Warner scored 123 and gave wicket to Mustafizur Rahman. Currently, Australia is leading the first innings.