The first day of the second Test being played between Australia and Bangladesh at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay was in the name of fast bowlers. A total of 18 wickets fell throughout the day and the batsmen had to struggle to score runs.
Sports News: The first day of the second Test match being played between Australia and Bangladesh was entirely in the name of the bowlers. At the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay, the fast bowlers dominated so much that a total of 18 wickets fell on the first day. Australia’s experienced fast bowler Mitchell Starc and Bangladesh’s Shoriful Islam performed brilliantly and took 6 wickets each.
Captain Pat Cummins won the toss and decided to bowl first and Starc completely proved his captain’s decision right. Bangladesh’s first innings was reduced to just 64 runs. Australia also struggled in response, but by the end of the day’s play they had scored 165 runs for 8 wickets and gained a significant lead in the first innings. Cameron Green was present at the crease after scoring 51 runs and Nathan Lyon scored 10 runs.
Mitchell Starc achieved success on the very first ball
Mitchell Starc started Australia’s bowling in a very aggressive manner. He gave a big blow to Bangladesh by taking a wicket on the very first ball of the innings. After this, he did not give any chance to the visiting team’s batting lineup to recover by taking wickets at regular intervals. Starc destroyed Bangladesh’s top order in a single spell. He sent many key batsmen to the pavilion including Tanjid Hasan, captain Nazmul Hussain Shanto, Mominul Haq and Liton Das. Bangladesh’s situation was so bad that four of its batsmen were out without opening the account.
Starc completed five wickets in just 22 balls. This performance was a great example of his fast and accurate bowling. Ultimately, he played the most important role in reducing Bangladesh’s first innings to 64 runs by taking 6 wickets.
Cummins and Hazlewood also supported Starc
After the initial shock from Starc, Bangladesh team could not get out of the pressure. Captain Pat Cummins also bowled effectively and took 3 wickets, while Josh Hazlewood took 1 wicket. The lower order batsmen definitely put up some struggle in Bangladesh’s innings. Taijul Islam and Shoriful Islam took the team’s score forward by adding 25 runs for the 10th wicket. This was the biggest partnership of Bangladesh’s innings.
However, Starc ended this partnership by taking the last wicket and Bangladesh’s innings ended at 64 runs. Due to low score, Australia was expected to get a big advantage in the first innings.
Australia’s batting is also in trouble
After bowling out Bangladesh for just 64 runs, it seemed that the Australian batsmen would easily gain a strong lead, but the visiting bowlers also made a strong comeback. Bangladesh’s fast bowler Shoriful Islam performed brilliantly with the new ball and troubled the Australian batsmen continuously. He took wickets at regular intervals and did not give the Australian team a chance to bat freely.
However, Steve Smith struggled at one end and played an important inning of 42 runs. After him, Cameron Green took the responsibility and took Australia’s innings forward. Green completed his half-century under pressure and remained unbeaten on 51 at the end of the day.
Shoriful Islam’s brilliant 6 wicket haul
The most impressive performance from Bangladesh was from Shoriful Islam. He brought his team back into the match by taking 6 wickets for Australia. Apart from them, Taskin Ahmed and Mehdi Hasan Miraj got 1 success each. By the end of the day’s play, Australia had scored 165 runs for 8 wickets. Nathan Lyon was at the crease with Cameron Green. Australia had got the lead over Bangladesh in the first innings, but the team will try to strengthen its lead on the second day.