In a significant blow to India’s Women’s World Cup campaign, in-form opener Pratika Rawal has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament after suffering injuries to her knee and ankle during the clash against Bangladesh on Sunday.
The 25-year-old twisted her right ankle while fielding in the final ball of the 21st over at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. As she sprinted from deep midwicket to stop the ball, her foot got caught in the turf, causing her to collapse in visible pain.
Although a stretcher was brought onto the field, Rawal managed to walk off with the help of support staff. A BCCI official later confirmed that the nature of the injury makes her unavailable for the upcoming knockout stages.
“The way she fell, it was clear she wouldn’t recover in time. It’s a very unfortunate situation,” the official said.
Rawal had been one of India’s standout performers in the tournament, scoring 308 runs in six innings at an average of 51.33. She notched up her maiden World Cup century against New Zealand and also became the joint-fastest player to reach 1,000 runs in women’s ODIs. Her partnership with **Smriti Mandhana** at the top of the order has been crucial to India’s success so far.
India is set to face defending champions Australia in the semifinal on Thursday, with the final scheduled for Sunday. Adding to the team’s concerns, Richa Ghosh’s fitness also remains uncertain after she injured her finger against New Zealand and missed the Bangladesh match.
Discussion about this post