BAN vs AUS 2017, 2nd Test: Peter Handscomb Loses 4.5 KG in Chittagong Heat
Sep 6, 2017 at 3:23 PM
The turning pitches and Bangladesh’s quality spinners were not the only threats for Australian batsman Peter Handscomb on the second day of the ongoing Test in Chittagong. The right-handed batsman entered the field when Australia were 98 for two in reply to Bangladesh’s first innings total of 305 and soon faced the heat.
With the mercury being in the 30s and the weather humid, Handscomb put up the brave side of his personality and compiled a well-scored 69 off 113 balls at the end of the day two to put his team into a commanding position. However, the 26-year old paid a big price for bailing his team out of the trouble in the sweltering heat, as he lost an unbelievable 4.5 kilograms of his body weight during his knock which head coach Darren Lehmann called ‘gutsy’.
He took several breaks in the hostile weather, and at one time it looked like he would fail to continue. When batting on 64, he hunched over and needed to sit down before being attended to by the medical team. Even the on-field umpires, David Warner and a few Bangladeshi players kept running to him to ensure he was okay. But fortunately, he resumed batting and remained unbeaten on 64, as Australia finished the day on a commanding 225 for two.
Handscomb is going to stay out there to finish off the day. Just a few overs remaining on day two.
Hard work out in the middle #BANvAUS pic.twitter.com/rFUVoBYw65
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) September 5, 2017
Speaking at the end of day’s play, Lehmann praised the batsman for his strong knock.
“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,” Lehmann said.
Meanwhile, Australia is trailing the two-game series by 1-0 after losing the opener at Dhaka by 20 runs.