ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Shadab Khan suffers head injury, walks out in Chennai during PAK vs SA match

Shadab Khan came back after spending 7 overs away from the field.

Pakistan suffered a massive setback against South Africa in their target defense at Chepauk Stadium in Chennai. Leg-spinner Shadab Khan injured himself during fielding. Pakistan are defending 271 runs in Chennai and need Shadab Khan fit for the defense.. Later on, Shadab Khan came back after a few overs in the South African innings. Pakistan need to win all of their remaining games to stay alive in the tournament. 

Shadab Khan was taken out of the field in the first over itself when he attempted a throw to the non-striker's end but in the process he lost his balance and fell on the ground. Shadab’s head got banged on the ground and he looked in enormous pain after the fall. Stretcher was called but as soon as Shadab recovered a bit he walked off the ground. Shadab’s injury looked very serious at first sight. 

Pakistan need Shadab in their target defence

Pakistan failed to defend 282 runs against Afghanistan at this very ground on Monday. Shadab Khan is now back in the field and will be soon coming in to bowl. Shadab was out of the action for about opening 8 overs in the innings and he may need to spend a considerable amount of time before coming to bowl. Shadab Khan was seen in a lot of trouble and tension had prevailed in the Pakistani dressing room for a while. 

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Batting first, Pakistan posted 270 runs against South Africa. Pakistan had a troubled start as they lost their opening batters inside the first powerplay. Abdullah Shafique (9) and Imam-ul-Haq (12) were dismissed early by Marco Jansen. South African Marco Jansen bowled a magnificent opening spell. Babar Azam (50), Saud Shakeel (52), and Shadab Khan (43) helped Pakistan reach an above-par total in Chennai. 

South Africa also lost their openers in the first power play. Quinton De Kock (24) and Temba Bavuma (24) perished after a decent start in their respective innings. Shaheen Afridi dismissed Quinton De Kock and Mohammad Wasim dismissed South African skipper Temba Bavuma. Pakistan need to win this game at any cost to remain in the hunt for the semi-final while South Africa also need a win to mark themselves safe at top 2 in points table.