Smriti Mandhana suffers heavy blow to head during warm-up match against South Africa
Star India opener Smriti Mandhana suffered a heavy blow to the head during the warm-up game against South Africa ahead of the 2022 Women's World Cup. In the first innings of the contest, Mandhana was stuck on the helmet with a fierce bouncer from South African pacer Shabnim Ismail.
According to an ICC report, the southpaw was visibly shaken and was immediately assessed by the Indian team doctor. Mandhana did not display any concussion symptoms, following which the doctor deemed her fit to resume the innings.
However, after one over, the doctor reassessed Mandhana, following which she left the field retired hurt as a precautionary measure. She had scored 12 runs in her innings.
The left-hander retired hurt minutes after she was hit on the helmet by a bouncer, and didn't take the field to start South Africa's innings 👇
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India eventually managed to reach 244/9 by the end of 50 overs. Harmanpreet Kaur (103) shepherded the middle-order and hit a century to take the side to a decent total.
Mandhana did not take the field at the start of the second innings of the match.
"It was good to see Harmanpreet Kaur playing all those shots" - Smriti Mandhana following the fifth ODI win against New Zealand
Following a comfortable win against New Zealand in the fifth ODI, Smriti Mandhana was delighted to see Harmanpreet Kaur's return to form. Mandhana emphasized that Kaur's good batting form will bode well for the team going into the World Cup.
Speaking at the post-match conference following her player of the match performance that saw her score 71 runs, Mandhana said:
"It was really important for the team. It was good to see her(Harmanpreet) playing all those shots she was playing. I was just happy to watch that from the other end. For the team going into the World Cup, it was really important that both of us score and get confidence with all other batters."
She further added:
"I think all the girls are really disconnected from the outside noise. Everyone was really positive when we joined the team later. All were keen to go out and work hard. This win is going to give us a boost."
The Mithali Raj-led Indian side's World Cup campaign will commence on March 6 with a clash against Pakistan at Mount Maunganui.