Mumbai Indians’ chase of an already-colossal target of 234 was derailed by twin injuries to top order batters Ishan Kishan and Cameron Green. While Ishan picked up a freak injury after colliding with teammate Chris Jordan in the first innings, Green was hit on the arm by a ball from Hardik Pandya while batting early on.
Choosing to bowl first after winning the toss, five-time champions Mumbai were set the hefty target by the Gujarat Titans in the second Qualifier of IPL 2023 on Friday at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
Ishan and Jordan were walking past each other between overs when the two collided, with the Barbadian-born English cricketer not seeing the Indian keeper since he was wiping his face with a towel. Jordan’s left elbow hit Ishan flush in the left eye region. The keeper immediately walked off to the dressing room. When the MI innings started, Impact Sub Nehal Wadhera took his spot up the batting order. Later, Vishnu Vinod was named as a concussion sub in place of Ishan.
Green, meanwhile, came in after Wadhera’s wicket at one down. He had played just two balls when the third ball from Hardik Pandya hit him on the arm, just below the elbow. The 146kph ball left a bruise. The Australian soon walked off the pitch to get treatment, with Kevin Pietersen in the commentary box saying: “This might be a little bit worse than a bruise.”
Thankfully for Mumbai, the Australia managed to shrug it off and walked out after the fall of the third Mumbai wicket. The Australian’s return to the middle was not just a relief for Mumbai Indians, but for Australia, who will be hoping to rely on him for the Ashes and the World Test Championship final. Green was finally dismissed for a 20-ball 30.