Injury scare for Australia as Josh Hazlewood leaves the field gingerly

Troubles for Australia only seems to aggravate as their strike bowler Josh Hazlewood left the field gingerly due to soreness in the left side. On the Third Day of the Mirpur Test, Hazlewood bowled just one ball in his second over of the day as he left the field clutching his left side.

Before leaving the field, he consulted his skipper Steve Smith for further assessment. It is still unsure whether he would be able to take any further part in Bangladesh’s second innings. Hazlewood was one of the two seam bowlers selected in the match along with Pat Cummins, looking at the spin friendly conditions of Dhaka.

Steve Smith went ahead with Ashton Agar and Nathan Lyon who picked up three wickets each in the first innings. The other options available in the Australian dressing room are Jackson Bird and seam-bowling all-rounder Hilton Cartwright, who replaced Hazlewood on the field.

Bangladesh make use of Josh Hazlewood’s absence

After reducing the hosts to 10-3 in the morning session of Day 1, Australia conceded 260 runs, thanks to the vital contributions of Bangladeshi talisman Tamim Iqbal and Shakib al Hasan. Bangladesh backed up their good work with the bat as they reduced the visitors to 144-8. Australia only conceded a lead of 43, thanks to priceless contributions from Ashton Agar and Pat Cummins batting at 9 and 10.

With the help of his fifer in the first innings, Shakib al Hasan joined the likes of Rangana Herath, Dale Steyn and Muttiah Muralitharan, who have taken a five-wicket haul against all Test playing nation. Currently, the Bangladeshis are in the driver’s seat with a lead of 182 on the board and six wickets in hand. Looking at the recent record of Australia against spin, one might think a target of 200 would suffice.