Duleep Trophy: Ambulance arrives on field after Venkatesh Iyer hit on neck by throw from bowler

Duleep Trophy 2022: Venkatesh Iyer was hit on the neck by fast bowler Chintan Gaja after he let out a bizarre throw at the Central Zone batter during the semi-final match in Coimbatore on Friday.

India all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer on Friday, September 16 suffered a nasty blow on his neck during a Duleep Trophy match in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Iyer was in pain after he copped the blow on Day 2 of the semi-final match between West Zone and Central Zone at the SNR College Cricket Ground in the South Indian city.

Venkatesh Iyer held his neck and fell to the ground after West Zone bowler Chintan Gaja threw the ball back at the left-handed batter. Iyer had hit Gaja for a six in the previous delivery following which he hit one straight back at the bowler. Gaja, who was frustrated with his effort, let out a bizarre throw that hit Iyer on his head.

An ambulance arrived on the field even as the physio ran out to check on the India all-rounder. However, much to the relief of everyone on the ground, Iyer stood up and walked his way back to the dressing room.

Iyer, in fact, overcame pain and walked out to bat for his team at No. 7. However, the Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder made only 14 runs before he was dismissed by Danush Kotian.

Central Zone, led by Karan Sharma, folded for 128 in 40.1 overs in the first innings, conceding a lead of 129 runs to West Zone. Prithvi Shaw then helped West Zone extend their lead with a quickfire century, his second in the ongoing Duleep Trophy tournament.

Shaw was unbeaten on 104 off 96 balls after West Zone lost Yashasvi Jaiswal for 3 and captain Ajinkya Rahane for 12 at Stumps. Rahul Tripathi fell for 0 but Arman Jaffer steadied the ship and made sure there were no more hiccups for West Zone.

The semi-final is also Venkatesh Iyer's first competitive outing since India's warm-up matches against England. The all-rounder was not considered for selection in T20Is after the tour of England.