New Delhi:
Virat Kohli’s Indian cricket team suffered a major blow in the warm-up game against Cricket Australia XI as their star opener Prithvi Shaw was ruled out of the first Test against Australia in Adelaide after suffering an ankle injury while attempting to take a catch on day 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Shaw suffered the injury while attempting to take a catch of Cricket Australia XI batsman Max Bryant but landed awkwardly on his left ankle as he tumbled to the ground and rolled over the ropes. Immediately, Shaw grabbed his left ankle as medical staff attended to the 19-year-old youngster.
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The youngster was attended to by Indian team physio Patrick Farhart and left the venue by a motorised stretcher. The BCCI provided an update on Shaw’s condition by saying, “Shaw underwent scans this morning and the reports revealed a lateral ligament injury. Shaw will be unavailable for the First Test against Australia in Adelaide. He will undergo an intensive rehabilitation program to hasten the recovery and be available for selection at the earliest.”
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An injury to Shaw will pose plenty of selection headaches for Kohli for the Adelaide Test. The right-hander, who scored a century on debut against the West Indies in Rajkot, was in fine form in the warm-up game by scoring 66. Before this match, Shaw was in good form for India A in the four-day game against New Zealand A in Mount Maunganui where he hit scores of 62 and 50.
With KL Rahul also failing and Murali Vijay not getting a game, India’s opening issues could hurt them in the Adelaide Test. However, in this warm-up game, the middle order has scored runs which will please the Indian skipper.
Kohli smashed 64 and in addition to Shaw, he was well-supported by Cheteshwar Pujara (54), Ajinkya Rahane (56) and Hanuma Vihari (53) as India amassed 358 all out. This is the only warm-up game for the Indian team ahead of the first Test as Kohli’s side look to clinch their first-ever Test series win Down Under.
