Bawne retires hurt after hit on helmet

Maharashtra's Ankit Bawne has retired hurt after being hit on the helmet at the stroke of lunch on the third day of the Ranji Trophy Group B match against Punjab. The team management has clarified that Bawne was only resting as a precautionary measure and that he would return to bat at some point during the Maharashtra innings.

Bawne tried to duck under a short-pitched delivery from the debutant Maninder Singh. It was the fourth ball of what would have been the last over before lunch. Bawne took his eyes off the ball, which didn't rise as much as expected and thudded into the left side of his helmet. Bawne immediately removed his helmet, which seemed to have suffered some damage.

Team doctor Abhishek Joshi rushed out to attend to Bawne, by which time most of the Punjab players had surrounded the batsman to check if he was okay. The batsman looked shaken by the blow and the umpires decided to take lunch with two balls remaining in the over. Bawne was batting on 12, with Maharashtra 60 for 2 in the 20th over.

After the break, Bawne remained in the dressing room while Kedar Jadhav walked out to bat along with the opener Harshad Khadiwale, who was batting on 32. When Khadiwale was dismissed 40 minutes into the post-lunch session, it was Rahul Tripathi who walked in to bat and not Bawne.