Watch: Jaydev Unadkat’s short ball hits Suryakumar in Ranji Trophy final

India’s premier domestic competition, The Ranji Trophy, witnessed an unpleasant incident on Thursday. In the summit clash between Mumbai and Saurashtra, Suryakumar Yadav, the Mumbai batsman, took a blow at the back of his helmet. The short ball released by Saurashtra’s left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat stunned the right-hander for a few moments before he regained his composure and balance.

Unadkat had been his team’s best bowler throughout the day and troubled the Mumbai batsmen with movement and accuracy. Bowling round the wicket he bowled a short one and Suryakumar tried to duck under the delivery by taking his eyes off it. The ball did not bounce as much as the batsman had expected and hit him as he went down on his knees. The bowler immediately converged towards him looking concerned and checked if everything was okay.

The quality of helmets has been under immense scrutiny ever since the unfortunate incident happened to Phil Hughes. In this case, though, it was clearly the helmet saving the batsman as the initial impact seemed nasty. Head injury can prove critical hence it is extremely important that helmet manufacturing companies pay detailed attention during the making of this protective gear.

In a fascinating battle between the bat and the ball, the Ranji Trophy final has thus far lived up to its billing. On a green pitch in Pune, Saurashtra was in trouble early in their innings, however, staged a fight back to post to 235. In reply, Mumbai was going strong at one stage, however, collapsed to 262/8 at the end of play on day 2. If the trend continues on the remaining days, the biggest match in India’s domestic cricket may witness a close finish.

Watch: Jaydev Unadkat’s short ball hits Suryakumar in Ranji Trophy final: via (BCCI Twitter Handle)

Unadkat's short ball hits Surya at the back of his helmet.Thankfully no serious injury @Paytm #RanjiTrophy Final pic.twitter.com/URYTHK6kQH

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 25, 2016