Australian Cricket team bus was attacked

Australian cricket team bus was attacked with a rock when it was returning to the hotel from the Barsapara stadium in Guwahati after beating India in the second Twenty20 International.
The Australian cricket team bus was attacked in Guwahati on Tuesday night. Australia had beaten India to level the T20 series 1-1
The T20I cricket series between India and Australia took a shameful turn on Tuesday. The latter’s team bus was attacked with a rock on their way to the hotel from the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. (IND v AUS 2nd T20I highlights | Scorecard)

The incident occurred after Australia defeated India by eight wickets at the newly built stadium to level the three-match T20I series 1-1. No players were hurt in the incident.

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When contacted by Hindustan Times, Australian cricket team’s media officer said that ‘local authorities were looking into the matter’. She added that Cricket Australia (CA) is unlikely to release an official statement on the matter.

Australian opener Aaron Finch tweeted a picture of a broken glass window of the bus. No one was sitting at the window, when the rock hit the glass panel.

“Pretty scary having a rock thrown through the team bus window on the way back to the hotel!!” he wrote on Twitter. The post was also retweeted by stand-in captain David Warner.

The second T20I at Barsapara ended at around 10:05 pm while both the teams left the venue after an hour. The Australian cricket team bus was accompanied by local police and security officials on their way back to the hotel.

READ | India vs Australia: Mismanagement rules supreme in maiden T20 at Barsapara Stadium

‘Have informed police’

Assam Cricket Association (ACA) vice-president Debojit Saikia said they have lodged a complaint with the police regarding the incident.

“The culprit should be found. We have informed the police about the incident. I am also meeting the Australian team officials to assure them of security on their way back from Guwahati. The atmosphere was great during the match and we will make sure that such freak incidents won’t mar the reputation of Assam cricket,” Saikia told Hindustan Times.

Cricket.com.au reported that “while no one was injured, the Australian players were understandably shaken up by the incident. Players and staff were travelling from the ground back to their team hotel when someone threw a rock, believed to be roughly the size of a cricket ball, at a window on the right-hand side of the bus. The projectile pierced through the glass and ended up inside the bus, shattering the window”.

This was the first time in seven years that Guwahati hosted an international match and the incident comes as a blot on the hosts.

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Attack history

This is not the first time that the Australian team bus has come under attack on their tour of the subcontinent.