It came as a huge relief for India when their star opener Smriti Mandhana finally got the clearance to play in the upcoming Women's World Cup which is slated to start from March 4. During a warm-up match against South Africa, Mandhana was hit on the head by a Shabnim Ismail bouncer after which she was forced to retire hurt.
After further assessment, Smriti was diagnosed with a mild soft tissue injury to her left earlobe which caused discomfort while batting and therefore she had to leave the field retired hurt. As a safety precaution, she was rested for the rest of the match and is currently under observation. Presently, the opening batter is doing fine and her condition is stable.
Her progress will be monitored by the medical team and a decision on her participation in the next match will be taken accordingly, a source in the know confirmed Sports Tak.
The stylish batter looked in fine fettle while scoring her 20th half-century in her previous ODI against New Zealand before the upcoming 50-over showpiece.
Mandhana has so far scored 2461 runs in 64 ODIs, including four centuries.
India won a thrilling warm-up game
Meanwhile, India registered a thrilling win by two runs against South Africa in their first warm-up game. Smriti Mandhana scored only 12 runs before walking off, however, the team was benefited from the return to form of Harmanpreet Kaur who slammed a stunning century. Yastika Bhatia also scored 58 runs which propelled India to 244/9 in their 50 overs.
In response, South Africa were on track in the chase thanks to fifties from Laura Wolvaardt (83) and Sune Luus (86) but lost their way at the fag end of the innings. Eventually, they fell only three runs short of the target to lose the game. Rajeshwari Gayakwad was the star bowler for India returning with the figures of 4/54 while the other bowlers also were economical. India will play their next warm-up game against West Indies on March 1 (Tuesday).
India are scheduled to play another warm-up, against West Indies, before beginning their World Cup campaign against Pakistan on March 6.
India's squad: Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur (vc), Smirti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh, Taniya Bhatia, Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav Reserves: Ekta Bisht, Simran Dil Bahadur, Sabbhineni Meghana
