Watch: Usman Khawaja suffers freak knee injury at MCG in a huge blow for Australia
Published - 28 Dec 2024, 11:23 AM | Updated - 28 Dec 2024, 11:35 PM
The Australian national cricket team suffered an injury scare on the third day of the fourth Test match against the Indian national cricket team in the ongoing Test series. Australian opening batter Usman Khawaja hurt his knee while fielding during the final session of the Boxing Day Test match.
Usman Khawaja didn't look at his best in the first three Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 against India. The left-handed batter had scored only 63 runs in six innings. However, the southpaw regained his batting form in the first innings of the fourth Test, scoring 57 runs off 121 balls.
Watch: Australia Suffers Injury Scare as Usman Khawaja Hurts His Knee
The incident occurred during the fourth delivery of the 104th over in India's first innings. Nitish Kumar Reddy nudged the ball backward of square leg for a single. Usman Khawaja attempted to field the ball but his knee got stuck in the turf. However, he quickly recovered and continued to the field without any issues.
Have a look at the incident right here:
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Earlier in the day, pacer Mitchell Starc appeared to experience back discomfort and was seen receiving treatment from team physio Nick Jones near the boundary. Middle-order batter Travis Head suffered a painful blow to his ankle while fielding at silly mid-off after being struck by a powerful cover drive.
Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar Lead Resilient Lower-Order Fightback After Early Wickets
Indian all-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar led a resilient lower-order fightback after early wickets on the third day. Their counterattacking century partnership for the eighth wicket not only helped India avoid the follow-on but also brought the Test match closer to a potential draw.
At the end of the second session, the Rohit Sharma-led team was at 7-326, trailing by 148 runs, with Nitish Kumar (85*) and Washington Sundar (40*) unbeaten in the middle. The India national cricket team will be hoping to narrow the deficit as much as possible with two well-set batters at the crease.
Little Bit Frustrating - Scott Boland
Resuming at 5-164 on Day 3, Rishabh Pant added 32 runs with Ravindra Jadeja before being dismissed for 28 after his reckless attempt at a ramp shot off Scott Boland. Jadeja fell to Nathan Lyon, who trapped him leg-before for 17 by sneaking a delivery through his defenses.
"Little bit frustrating. Unsure why they pulled out a few times. A couple of extra balls to bowl. So, from Adelaide, when he (Pant) was playing those ramps and pull shots pretty finer, we wanted a guy out there (deep third man). Usually, you want conventional way of dismissals, nicking off to the keeper or in the slip cordon. Yeah, we put a fieldsman for some reason," Boland said.
