Younis Khan struck on throat by a Shannon Gabriel bouncer
Pakistani legend Younis Khan survived a serious injury after the right-hand batsman was hit on the throat by a Shannon Gabriel bouncer in the first innings of the Third Test in Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium. The Pakistan cricket team are currently playing the West Indians in the third and final Test of the series.
Having won the toss, Pakistan opted to bat first in what looks like a batting track in Sharjah. The Pakistanis got off to a terrible after losing two wickets in the very first over of the innings. Shannon Gabriel struck twice in the space of three balls as Azhar Ali nicked one to the keeper before Asad Shafiq was struck on leg right in front of the wicket.
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Younis Khan walked in to bat next and was looking shaky in his defense initially. The West Indian duo of Gabriel and Alzarri Joseph seemed to be in full swing as both of them were bowling quite a few short balls with some decent pace. Sami Aslam and Younis were not in the mood to have a go at the short ones as both of them looked to guard their wickets and let the short ones go by.
However, Younis was caught off guard during the fifth over of the Pakistan innings as a pacy short one from the tall Gabriel hit him right on the throat. Gabriel banged one short and the ball followed Younis Khan and hit the veteran batsman just below the throat. Younis was rattled for a second or two, but looked fine and carried on.
This is the second time in the last three days that a batsman has survived a serious blow. Mushfiqur Rahim was struck on his head by a Ben Stokes bouncer two days ago in the second Test match between England and Bangladesh. The injury wasn't serious and the wicketkeeper-batsman carried on.
Also read: Mushfiqur Rahim hit on the head by bouncer, survives serious injury against England
However in Younis Khan's case the ball hit the unprotected part of the body, below the jaw. The batsman is playing only his second Test match of the series after missing the first Test due to illness. Younis was batting on 3 runs when he was struck by the fiery bouncer.
Pakistan cricket team won the first two Test matches and are on the quest to complete a series whitewash against the West Indies. They already whitewashed the West Indies in the T20 and ODI series.