In a tense moment during the high-stakes clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Ravindra Jadeja and Matheesha Pathirana were involved in a concerning on-field collision. The incident occurred during the fourth over of RCB’s innings, with young pacer Anshul Kamboj bowling to Jacob Bethell.
On the second-last ball of the over, Kamboj delivered a back-of-a-length delivery outside off, which Bethell attempted to pull across the line. However, he miscued the shot, resulting in a top edge that ballooned toward the short third man region. As the ball descended, both Jadeja and Pathirana sprinted toward it—unfortunately, without either being aware of the other’s movement.
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In a classic case of miscommunication, the two collided mid-air just as Jadeja appeared to have the catch in his grasp. Pathirana’s face struck Jadeja’s arms, dislodging the ball and resulting in a dropped chance. The Sri Lankan speedster immediately went down, visibly shaken, while Jadeja initially reacted with frustration before quickly checking on his younger teammate’s condition.
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Physios rushed to attend to Pathirana, and Jadeja was seen indicating a minor cut to them, suggesting the injury wasn’t severe. Nevertheless, Pathirana looked visibly dazed and was taken off the field, replaced by Kamlesh Nagarkoti for the remainder of the innings.
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As for the match, RCB came out all guns blazing after MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bowl first. Jacob Bethell set the tone with a flurry of boundaries, including three consecutive fours off Khaleel Ahmed in the opening over. He and Virat Kohli then launched into an aggressive assault, smashing three sixes in the third over, powering RCB to a commanding 71 without loss at the end of the powerplay.
