Sri Lanka’s wretched tour took a nasty turn with star opener Dimuth Karunaratne rushed to hospital after being felled by a bouncer, as Australia continued their domination of the series on Saturday.
He was later cleared of injury and discharged on Saturday night, though it’s unclear if he will be fit to play out the game.
A hush descended upon the sell-out crowd in Canberra as Karunaratne was tended to by medical staff from both teams and paramedics after being struck on the neck by a short ball from speedster Pat Cummins. Karunaratne fell to the ground immediately, almost dropping his bat onto the stumps.
Play was stopped for about 12 minutes as the injured batsman received treatment on the field before being placed on a stretcher and taken off the playing arena on a medicab. It’s understood he did not lose consciousness but complained of pain in his neck and tingling to his hands.
He was then taken by ambulance to hospital for further assessment, accompanied by the Sri Lanka team manager, while his father and sister are believed to have travelled in a separate car.
“It was a bit scary at the start, the way he fell back initially,” Sri Lanka coach Chandika Hathurusingha said.
It would have been an eerie feeling for the Australian team, several of whom were involved in the game where Phillip Hughes was fatally wounded in 2014.
Only 24 hours earlier, Travis Head choked back tears in a post-match interview in which he revealed he had dedicated his maiden Test century to Hughes, his former South Australia teammate.
Cummins appeared shaken by the incident and checked in on his opponent as he left the field. He did, however, continue bowling and delivered a bouncer shortly after.
“It’s never a nice feeling seeing someone go down like that. It was a good thing he looked like he was moving his hands and the physio said he seemed alright when he left,” Cummins said on Fox Sports after play. “I wish him all the best and I hope he’s doing alright.”
Earlier in the session, Lahiru Thirimanne was struck on his right hand by a delivery from Jhye Richardson. Thirimanne was in discomfort but played on after being given a spray to numb the blow.
Sri Lanka’s campaign has already been crippled by injury with pacemen Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara and Dushmantha Chameera all breaking down in Australia.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
