Worrying sight for India: Star spinner stretchered off after ankle injury

Photo/screengrab

India suffered an injury scare during their Women's T20 World Cup match against the Netherlands on Wednesday as off-spinner Shreyanka Patil had to leave the field after injuring her ankle while bowling her first over. The incident took place in the sixth over of the Netherlands innings. Shreyanka had bowled just one delivery when she hurt herself while trying to stop the ball in the field. After Phebe Molkenboer played the ball into the leg side, Shreyanka chased it from midwicket to prevent extra runs. While doing so, she twisted her ankle and immediately appeared to be in pain. Medical staff rushed onto the field to assess her condition. Shreyanka was unable to put weight on her right leg and was eventually taken off the field on a stretcher. The injury came as a setback for the off-spinner, who had only recently returned to cricket after spending more than a year on the sidelines because of multiple injuries. She made her comeback during this year's Women's Premier League and had entered the World Cup looking to make an impact. Earlier, India's batters had put the Netherlands under pressure by posting 209 for 5.

Openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma gave India a strong start after the Netherlands chose to field first. The pair added 115 runs for the opening wicket in 70 balls. Mandhana scored 74 off 47 balls, registering her second successive fifty-plus score in the tournament, while Shafali made 55 off 38 balls, her first half-century of the competition. India made two changes to the playing XI, bringing in Yastika Bhatia for Bharti Fulmali and Nandani Sharma in place of Arundhati Reddy. Shafali led the charge during the powerplay as India collected 59 runs in the first six overs. The Netherlands bowlers struggled for consistency, allowing the Indian opener to score freely. Her lofted drive over extra cover off pacer Isabel Woning was among the highlights of the opening phase. Netherlands captain Babette de Leede rotated her bowlers frequently in an attempt to slow down the scoring. Myrthe van den Raad also had difficulties with her line, conceding six wides in the sixth over. Mandhana accelerated after the powerplay, attacking both the spinners and the seamers. She struck four boundaries in four balls during the 15th over bowled by Silver Siegers. Although Jemimah Rodrigues and captain Harmanpreet Kaur could not fully capitalise after the departure of the openers, late contributions from Richa Ghosh, who scored 20 off 8 balls, and Deepti Sharma, who made 10 off 2 balls, helped India reach 209 for 5 — their highest total in Women's T20 World Cup history.