Zimbabwe opener Brian Bennett suffers concussion during ZIM vs SA 1st test, replacement named

Brian Bennett got injured off Kwena Maphaka’s delivery in the sixth over of the first innings.

The Zimbabwe Cricket Team and the South Africa Cricket Team are locking horns in the first test of the ongoing two-match test series. The encounter is underway at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. On day two of the match, the home side’s opener, Brian Bennett, was ruled out of the encounter due to a concussion.

During the sixth over of the innings, which was bowled by Kwena Maphaka, Bennett was hit on the helmet. He continued batting for a while, but after that left the crease. The right-handed batsman scored 19 runs off 28 balls with four boundaries during his knock.

Bennett, who was diagnosed with a mild concussion, has now been replaced by Prince Masvaure as a concussion substitute. 36-year-old Masvaure, who has played ten tests for Zimbabwe, is also an opening batter like Bennett. As per the concussion rules, Bennett will not play any further role in the match.

Bennett showed a brilliant form in the one-off test against England last month, scoring a 139-run knock in Nottingham. The 21-year-old has played eight tests for Zimbabwe so far, hitting 479 runs with two centuries and an equal number of half-centuries.

South Africa post a mammoth total in the first innings

Talking about the match, South Africa won the toss and opted to bat first. The visitors piled up a mammoth total of 418/9d in the first innings. They lost the top-order batters cheaply, however, debutant Lhuan-dre Pretorius (153) and Corbin Bosch (100*) hammered centuries to propel the scoreboard to a huge total. Dewald Brevis (51) also slammed a crucial half-century on debut.

For Zimbabwe, Tanaka Chivanga clinched a four-wicket haul while Blessing Muzarabani hunted two wickets. However, Zimbabwe struggled with their batting in the first innings. While opener Bennett was ruled out due to a concussion, his opening partner Takudzwanashe Kaitano lost his wicket for a duck.

Nick Welch, who came to bat at three, lost his wicket for four runs. Later, Sean Williams and Craig Ervine (36) helped the team make a comeback in batting. Zimbabwe crossed over 170 runs on the scoreboard for the loss of four wickets.

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