Kane Williamson suffered a right knee injury during Gujarat Titan’s opening win of IPL 2023 against Chennai Super Kings on Friday, and it has put his further participation in the season under a cloud.
New Zealand captain Williamson hurt his knee in a fall while fielding in the opening match of the tournament and then limped off the field in the 13th over of CSK innings.
Williamson, who was making his Gujarat Titans debut, intercepted a ball headed for a possible six off CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad’s bat.
He managed to palm the ball into the field of play before it bounced onto the boundary ropes. But he fell awkwardly on the ground and clutched his right knee in pain.
The extent of his injury is not yet known, but it didn’t look good.
He was taken off after receiving on-field treatment and did not come back to ba with B Sai Sudharsan coming in as a substitute fielder first and later he took Williamson’s place in the Titans’ playing XI under the Impact Player rule.
Titans captain Hardik Pandya had said at the post-match press conference that he did not know how serious was the injury.
“It is knee (injury) for sure but I don’t have any update about what exactly has happened. I don’t know how serious the injury is and how much time it will take (to heal). Right now there is no time frame,” Pandya said.
“I had just messaged him. He (Williamson) has gone for the scans, once he comes back after the scans and doctors check (on him), then only we will be able to know what exactly it is.”
In Auckland, New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said Williamson’s injury was a big blow to the national team.
“Our first thoughts are obviously with him, we’re not sure at this stage of the severity of the injury. He’s being assessed in the next 24-48 hours, so we will know more after that,” said Stead, who had spoken to Williamson since the incident and found him in “OK” spirits.
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Gujarat Titans beat Chennai Super Kings to win IPL 2023 opener
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<p>Opener Shubman Gill smashed 63 as holders Gujarat Titans beat Chennai Super Kings by five wickets in the Indian Premier League opener in Ahmedabad on Friday. </p>
<p>Chasing 179 for victory, Gujarat rode on Gill’s 36-ball innings to achieve their target with four balls to spare. </p>
<p>Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to field first before Chennai opener Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed a flurry of boundaries in his 92 off 50 balls. </p>
<p>Ruturaj lost partners Moeen Ali (23) and Ben Stokes (7) but kept up the attack against the opposition bowlers. </p>
<p>But Mohammed Shami, who reached 100 IPL wickets, Rashid Khan and Alzarri Joseph took two wickets each to check the opposition scoring. </p>
<p>Gujarat suffered a blow when Kane Williamson jarred his knee while attempting a catch at the boundary and limped off the ground. </p>
<p>Sai Sudharsan replaced Williamson under the new “impact player” rule after Chennai replaced Ambati Rayudu with Tushar Deshpande when they fielded. </p>
<p>Deshpande got the prized wicket of Gill after being hit for a six on the previous ball to boost Chennai’s hopes of a turnaround. </p>
<p>But unbeaten cameos from Rashid Khan (10) and Rahul Tewatia (15) steered their team home.</p>
<p>Rashid was named man of the match for his all-round show. </p>
<p>”We were very happy because at one point they were looking to go past 200, but we got wickets at the right time,” Pandya said. </p>
<p>”Obviously when we lost Kane, we had to make sure we cover those runs and as many less runs as we can give,” Pandya added. </p>
<p>”Having this Impact rule makes my job difficult,” said Pandya. “I have too many options, and because of this someone will bowl less.” </p>
<p>”We were slightly short,” Dhoni said of his team’s 178/7. </p>
<p>”Another 15-20 runs would have been good. We all know there would be a little bit of dew,” Dhoni added. </p>
“All we know at this stage is it’s his right knee. Unfortunately I can’t give you much more than that now until we find out more information,” Stead was quoted as saying by www.stuff.co.nz.
“It’s not nice to see anyone, let alone your captain of your white ball team, being injured. It’s a big blow for him, and it’s a big blow for us.”
Williamson’s previous stint in the cash-rich league was for Sunrisers Hyderabad, having captained the side for major part of his stay there since 2015.
(With agency inputs)
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