Australia Cricket Team suffered an injury scare when Usman Khawaja was hit by a nasty bouncer from Andre Russell during their warm-up game against Windies on May 22. Meanwhile, the Aussies eased to a seven-wicket win well guided by former skipper Steven Smith.
Khawaja cleared off serious injury
Batting first, Windies managed to post 229 runs in 49 for two after Australia reduced them to 104 for six. A good partnership from Sunil Ambris and Carlos Brathwaite helped them go past the 200-run mark. Previously, Evin Lewis also chipped in with a timely half-century at the start to keep the scoreboard ticking. Mitchell Marsh, Pat Cummins, and Glenn Maxwell all returned with three wickets to ran through the Windies line up.
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Australia chased down the target in 38.2 overs with Steve Smith (76) and Shaun Marsh (55) scoring half-centuries. Skipper Aaron Finch scored 42 at the top while Usman Khawaja was retired hurt for 5. David Warner, who finished as the highest run-scorer in the IPL, got out cheaply batting at one drop.
Meanwhile, Usman Khawaja got hit badly from a nasty bouncer off Andre Russell which struck him under his helmet. The ball reared up off a length and caught him napping. The team doctor attended Khawaja soon and took him off the field. Khawaja then went to the hospital and the scans have shown nothing serious. Khawaja later returned back to the ground in the afternoon after being cleared of serious damage, according to a report in cricket.com.au.
Shaun Marsh, while speaking at the end of the game, admitted that it was a nasty blow on the helmet. The southpaw added that Usman Khawaja is a tough guy and he will bounce back pretty soon.
“It was very scary,” said Shaun Marsh after the game. “It copped him on the side of the cheekbone … The main thing is he is OK and can bounce back pretty quickly. (Khawaja was) a bit shaken, as you are when you get hit on the head. But he is a tough cookie, Uzzy, and he’ll be ready to go,” he added.