England all-rounder Liam Livingstone is in doubt for the opening match of the T20 World Cup as he has suffered a finger injury in the warmup match against India. It happened when he dropped the catch of Ishan Kishan while fielding in the mid-wicket region. And, soon after he left the field with the physio to address the little finger of his left hand.
However, his situation will be monitored for the next 24 hours, and a call will be taken after that whether he is fit or not for the first match against West Indies on Saturday (October 23). Notably, the all-rounder had a good show with both bat and ball as he scored 30 runs and managed to dismiss Virat Kohli for 11 runs. Although England lost the match, Liam Livingstone gave a good show as well.
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Liam Livingstone has been in good form lately. He had scored England’s fastest T20I ton against Pakistan and was also named the MVP of the season during the inaugural edition of the Hundred as well. And, his stunning show earned him a place in the all-important T20 World Cup. Now, with this untimely injury, it remains to be seen if he manages to be fit in time to take the field against West Indies as well.
As far as the warm-up game is concerned, India registered a seven-wicket victory against England in the warm-up match on Monday, October 18 at ICC Cricket Academy Ground in Dubai. England posted 188 runs while batting first and India reached the target in 19 overs on the back of fifties from KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan. However, it was Rishabh Pant who finished the chase in style.
After being asked to bat first, England lost a couple of early wickets of Jason Roy (17) and Jos Buttler (18). But, Jonny Bairstow (49) and Moeen Ali (43*) steadied the ship and helped England post 188/5. For India, Mohammed Shami claimed three wickets, whereas Jasprit Bumrah and Rahul Chahar took one wicket each.
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In reply to England’s 188, India got off to a flying start as openers KL Rahul (51) and Ishan Kishan (70) stitched an 82-run stand before the former got out in the ninth over. Rishabh Pant then scored a quick cameo towards the end, scoring an unbeaten 29 off 14 balls. He smashed a six in the penultimate over and helped his side register a seven-wicket victory in the warm-up match against England.
