"The X-rays have cleared me of any broken bones or fractures" - Bhanuka Rajapaksa on injury suffered in RR vs PBKS match

Sri Lankan player Bhanuka Rajapaksa issued an update on his injury following Punjab Kings' (PBKS) five-run win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday (April 5).

Rajapaksa, who smashed a jaunty fifty in Punjab's tournament opener against Kolkata Knight Riders, walked in to bat at No.3 against RR at the halfway stage of PBKS' innings.

On the very first ball of the 11th over, bowled by Ravichandran Ashwin, PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan smashed a straight shot down the track that hit Rajapaksa at the non-striker's end.

Replays showed that the ball struck Rajapaksa's forearm on the right hand and the left-hander struggled with pain before the team physio attended to him on the pitch.

Despite wrapping his forearm with bandage, he soon retired hurt and walked off the pitch. Sharing an update on his injury, Rajapaksa tweeted:

"So happy for the win @PunjabKingsIPL! Thank you all for checking up on me. The X-rays have cleared me of any broken bones/fractures! Plenty of ice needed but I'm doing fine!"

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Punjab Kings seal nervy win against Rajasthan Royals

Punjab Kings openers Prabhsimran Singh (60) and Shikhar Dhawan (86*) slammed breezy fifties to help the team score 197/4.

After Arshdeep Singh removed Rajasthan Royals openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravichandran Ashwin in the powerplay, Nathan Ellis claimed the wickets of Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag and Devdutt Padikkal to finish with figures of 4/30 from four overs.

While Shimron Hetmyer (36 off 18 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (32 off 15 balls) threatened to make a comeback, Sam Curran held his nerves to defend 16 runs in the final over as the Royals fell five runs short of the target.

RR will take on Delhi Capitals on April 8 in Guwahati in their next IPL 2023 fixture, while PBKS will face Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad a day later.