T20 WC: India's star all-rounder Hardik Pandya injures shoulder while batting, sent for precautionary scans
Hardik Pandya. Photograph:( AFP )
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Ahead of the match, Hardik had mentioned that he won't bowl for in India's opening fixture against Pakistan but revealed his plans to go further in the tournament
In a massive blow to India's T20 World Cup plans, star all-rounder Hardik Pandya injured his shoulder while batting during the T20 World Cup game against Pakistan on Sunday (October 24). In the second innings, Ishan Kishan came in as a substitute fielder.
However, the extent of Hardik's injury couldn't be confirmed but media reports stated that Pandya has been taken for precautionary scans to check whether he has suffered any serious injury. "Hardik Pandya was hit on his right shoulder while batting. He has now gone for scans," PTI reported citing a BCCI's media team said.
Pakistan won the toss and asked India to bat first, the Virat Kohli & Co. were off to a poor start as they lost both their prolific openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul within three overs with just six runs on the board. Kohli's half-century helped India recover from a disastrous start to post a challenging 151 for seven.
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In reply to that, thanks to a stunning batting performance of the opening pair (Babar (68) and Rizwan (79)), the opponents reached the target with 13 balls to spare.
Ahead of the match, Hardik had mentioned that he won't bowl for in India's opening fixture against Pakistan but revealed his plans to go further in the tournament. "The back is fine, it was jittery, but I won't be bowling for now. I want to be able to bowl eventually, closer to the knockouts. The professionals and I both have to take the call about when I can have a bowl," Pandya told the broadcasters.
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Hardik will have enough time to recover in case the injury is not serious as India will play their next game against New Zealand on October 31. As a batter, Hardik scored 11 runs after coming in at the death as his role is that of a finisher but over the past year and a half, he hasn't won too many matches save a couple of T20s in Australia and one game in IPL.
