
Senior batter Rassie van der Dussen suffered an injury scare during MI Cape Town’s match against Paarl Royals in the ongoing SA20. The 35-year-old had a stunning time with the bat in the first innings, scoring 91 runs off 64 deliveries. Courtesy of his brilliant knock, the hosts posted 158 runs on the board.
During the second innings, Dussen hurt the ring finger of his right hand while fielding close in at cover point. Joe Root smacked Trent Boult and in an attempt to catch the ball, Dussen jumped but it eventually hit his fingertip before reaching the fence. He was attended by the medical team soon after that and was spotted with an ice pack. As per ESPNcricinfo, the finger got swollen but it didn’t turn blue and the player was able to shake hands after the game.
South Africa in the meantime will be cautious, especially after Anrich Norje was ruled out of the remainder of the SA20 and the Champions Trophy with a back injury. Dussen adds enormous experience and his form will also help the Proteas in the upcoming mega tournament and the board and the team management may reach out to him to check the nature of the injury.
Meanwhile, the Pretoria-born has added plenty of new shots to his arsenal. In the ongoing SA20, he was seen playing ramp shots, and switch hits and is playing an attacking brand of cricket. The MI Cape Town opener made 154 runs in four matches so far and is the second-leading run-scorer of the tournament.
After the game against Paarl, Dussen opened up on his battle against Kwena Maphaka. In the match, he attempted to play ramp but switched his stance late but couldn’t place himself in the right position. He ended up opening his bat and still managed to hit Maphaka for a six over deep third.
“I hit him for a four the previous ball and nine times out of ten that will go for six, because I hit it nicely and it was a full toss. The next ball, I thought he was going to be on the stumps but the key in those types of things is when you're lapping a guy that's bowling at pace you've just got to be willing to take it on the body if you miss it, so keep your head still. He obviously saw me coming, pushed it wide and I just had to get bat on it,” Dussen said.