Zimbabwe Batter Taken To Hospital After Nasty Head Injury vs New Zealand

Zimbabwe batter collapses on pitch - (Source: X.com)

An unfortunate incident occurred on Sunday, March 8, as Zimbabwe batter Kelis Ndhlovu suffered a nasty blow to the head and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The incident occurred in the 2nd ODI between Zimbabwe and New Zealand when a Bree Illing bouncer hit her in the head.

Zimbabwe, batting first, stitched a 25-run opening stand, which is when Ndhlovu ducked a bouncer but mistimed the bounce, and the ball hit her head. The opening batter collapsed on the ground, triggering a concerning and scary on-field moment.

Ndhlovu was taken off the field and rushed to a hospital for treatment. According to ICC rules, Zimbabwe were allowed to name a concussion replacement, allowing Tendai Makusha to return to the playing XI.

Zimbabwe Provide Update On Kelis Ndhlovu

"We've received some good news. She's responding now, which is really lovely to hear. "She's just recovering, and we'll just see what the scans say, and we'll move on from there," said Kate Ebrahim, Zimbabwe's interim head coach.

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"We briefly touched on that... I just made sure that the other opener was in a position to sort of mentally carry on. She was right there with her. Yeah, so I just touched base, made sure she was okay. A few words for her and just make sure [we] keep going with Chipo [Mugeri-Tiripano, the next batter] when she came in, and we just gather quickly as a team and just assist and... first I just checked on everyone because it can be quite a shock really, for everyone."

Amelia Kerr Steals The Show With All-Round Show

It was a perfect game for New Zealand as their skipper Amelia Kerr produced a steallar show with the bat and the ball. Notably, the right-arm spinner took a seven-wicket haul and registered her career-best figures. Her bowling helped New Zealand restrict Zimbabwe to just 102 runs. 

With the bat, Kerr opened the innings and scored 45 (40), which featured six fours and a solitary six. Notably, the Kiwis chased down the target in just 16.2 overs and clinched the series comfortably to their name.

The two teams will now lock horns against each other for the 3rd ODI on March 11 at the University Oval.

Zimbabwe Fresh Off Embarrssment in T20Is vs New Zealand

Zimbabwe are having a tour to forget as they have not won a single game in the entire series. Before the ODIs, the two teams squared off for three-match T20Is. The Kiwis whitewashed Zimbabwe 3-0 and thrased the team from Africa embarrassingly. 

Zimbabwe still have a lot to prove in world cricket and the team should take inspiration from their men's team, who recently reached the super 8 of T20 World Cup 2026.

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