A horrifying scene was seen in the ODI match between Zimbabwe women’s national cricket team and New Zealand women’s national cricket team on Sunday (8 March).
A Zimbabwe batsman was hit by a dangerous bouncer and fell on the field. The shocking incident left players and fans of both the teams stunned at the University Oval.
Scary scene in Zimbabwe vs New Zealand ODI, Kelis Ndhlovu rushed to hospital
Zimbabwe opener Kellis Ndhlovu had to be taken to hospital after a scary moment during the second ODI against the White Ferns. The young batsman was hit on the head by a fast, short ball bowled by New Zealand fast bowler Bree Illing, leaving all the cricketers worried.
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Ndhlovu started the innings with confidence and was building a consistent opening partnership with teammate Modester Mupachikwa. The pair had already added 25 runs when the unfortunate incident occurred in the seventh over.
As Bree Illing bowled a sharp bouncer, Ndhlovu tried to hide under the ball. Despite wearing a helmet, the ball hit her head and she immediately fell to the ground. This spread panic among the players of both the sides at the University Oval.
Medical staff arrived on the field and began examining the batsman, while the match was temporarily stopped. After initial treatment on the ground, Ndhlovu was carefully placed on a stretcher and taken in an ambulance to a hospital in Dunedin for further tests. Zimbabwe later brought on Tendai Makusha as a concussion substitute following the incident.
Relief for Zimbabwe, Kelis Ndhlovu shows positive signs after injury scare
Later, Zimbabwe’s interim coach Kate Ibrahim shared that Ndhlovu was showing positive symptoms and responding well after being taken to hospital, and that doctors were monitoring her condition.
Kate Ibrahim said in the post-match presentation: “We’ve got some good news. She’s responding now, which is really good to hear. She’s recovering well now, and we’ll see what the scans say, and we’ll go from there.”
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The coach added, “We touched on that briefly… I just made sure that the other opener, Mupachikwa, was mentally in a position to go on. She was right there with her. Yeah, so I just touched base, made sure she was OK.
A few words for that, and just make sure [we] keep going with chipo [Mugeri-Tiripano, the next batter] When she comes in, and we just quickly gather as a team and just assist and… At first I just checked on everyone because it can really be quite a shock to everyone.
White Ferns beat New Zealand by 8 wickets
Following this incident, the ODI match continued and the New Zealand women’s team won the game by eight wickets with over 200 balls remaining at the University Oval.
All-rounder Amelia Kerr performed brilliantly, taking seven wickets to help New Zealand take a 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.
