CWC 2019: India sweat on Shikhar Dhawan's fitness ahead of New Zealand clash

Shikhar Dhawan did not take the field in Australia's innings after taking a blow on his left thumb

Shikhar Dhawan was hit by a rising ball from Nathan Coulter-Nile | Getty

Shikhar Dhawan who scored a brilliant hundred against the defending champions Australia helped Team India to post a target in excess of 350 at The Oval. Dhawan also bagged the Man of the Match award for his fantastic knock of 117 off 109 deliveries with 16 boundaries as the Men in Blue handed Australia their first loss of World Cup 2019 campaign.

The 33-year-old played through the pain after a rising deliveries from Nathan Coulter-Nile hit him on the thumb. The batsman with 5480 runs to his name in ODIs did not take field in Australia's innings as he failed to recover from the blow and Ravindra Jadeja fielded in his place for the entire 50 overs.

Dhawan will undergo precautionary tests following which physio Patrick Farhart will take a call on his availability for the next game against the current table toppers New Zealand on Thursday.

As of now, Dhawan’s thumb is heavily bandaged. The Indian team would be hoping that it is not a fracture and just a bit of swelling that should heal in the next couple of days.

After beating the defending champions by 36 runs at The Oval, Virat Kohli and Co. will take field against New Zealand at Trent Bridge on June 13. As both the teams are currently unbeaten and are coming off good wins, it will be interesting to see which of the two teams comes out to be on top and remains unbeaten in the ongoing ICC mega event.

(With inputs from PTI)

 
 

By Swapnil Shireesh Javkhedkar - 10 Jun, 2019

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