Kane Williamson retires hurt in comeback ODI after he injures thumb in victory over Bangladesh

Kane Williamson scored 78 in 107 balls in his comeback match but retired hurt after a Bangladesh fielder threw the ball on his hand.

Kane Williamson retires hurt in comeback ODI after he injures thumb in victory over Bangladesh

Kane Williamson injured his thumb after a Bangladesh pacer threw the ball on his hand (Images via ESPN)

Kane Williamson finally returned to International cricket after 7 months. He had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the 2023 IPL opener while playing for Gujarat Titans. On his comeback match in the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup, he scored 78 runs off 108 balls but had to retire hurt. 

The 33-year-old was hit by a throw on his left thumb in the 38th over and was checked by the medics. He faced only one more delivery, but then returned to pavilion retired hurt. It looked like his thumb was still hurting and preferred to not take any more risks as he just returned. 

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He came in to bat for New Zealand when Rachin Ravindra departed for just 9 runs and built vital partnerships with Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell while chasing 246. Despite not playing international cricket for over 7 months, Kane Williamson looked like he never had a huge break. His classy 78 saw 8 boundaries and only one maximum. He handled the Bangladesh spinners with ease and led the Kiwis to their 3rd World Cup victory. 

Related: WATCH: Kane Williamson is making quick recovery for World Cup, shares glimpse of batting in nets

New Zealand go on top of the table as they beat Bangladesh with ease 

Electing to field first against Bangladesh, Kane Williamson and Co. took no time to hit the ground running. Trent Boult’s second wicket was also his 200th ODI wicket. They picked up the first four wickets within 4 overs, but thanks to a resilient partnership by Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh were back in the game. 

Trent Boult celebrates his 200th ODI wicket with his teammates (Image via ESPN)

After building a partnership of 96 runs, Lockie Ferguson broke it after dismissing Shakib. Although they batted their quota of 50 overs, Bangladesh could only muster up a total of 245. Ferguson picked up 3 wickets while Boult and Matt Henry picked up two wickets each.

New Zealand chased the total with ease despite losing opener Rachin Ravindra in the 3rd over. Williamson’s 78, Mitchell’s 89 and Conway’s 45 ensured they chased down the total with 43 balls to spare. With this win, New Zealand go on the top of the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup Group Stage table with 6 points. They will face Afghanistan on 18th October, a side that hasn’t won a World Cup match since 2015.

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