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ZIMBABWE’S World Twenty20 preparations suffered an injury scare when all-rounder Luke Jongwe was hospitalised on Tuesday after he was hit by a cricket ball on the head during the first practice match against Sharjah Cricket Club. Jongwe was struck above the right eye when he missed the ball while attempting a return catch. He was taken to hospital by ambulance where an x-ray revealed no damage.

However, as a precautionary measure, he also underwent a magnetic resonance imaging scan.

A statement from Zimbabwe Cricket yesterday said, because of the possibility of nausea and vomiting, Jongwe was put on a drip and hospitalised for observation and will be reviewed today (yesterday).

His injury overshadowed the 17 run win over the hosts. Zimbabwe put up 185 runs for six wickets, with the inform captain Hamilton Masakadza falling a run shy of a half-century. Vusumuzi Sibanda and Richmond Mutumbami also chipped in with 35 and 30 runs respectively.

Imran Haider was the pick of the Sharjah Cricket Club bowlers, claiming a player-of-the-match winning five wickets for 21 runs in four overs.

Chasing, the hosts put up 168 runs for four wickets in their allotted 20 overs, leaving Zimbabwe winners by 17 runs. Zimbabwe had won the toss and decided to bat.

Zimbabwe will play the Sharjah Cricket Club again today at the same venue, in a programme rescheduled due to the unavailability of the initial opposition, the United Arab Emirates national side, following their progression in the ongoing Asia Cup.

There will be two more practice matches for Zimbabwe at the Sharjah Cricket Ground against the West Indies on Saturday and Monday, before their departure for India for the World T20.

The Chevrons will play two more warm-up matches in India where they face perennial rivals Bangladesh next Friday and then Ireland two days later, under the International Cricket Council practice schedule for the World Twenty20 tournament.

The two matches are in Dharamshala.

The Zimbabwe touring party will then go to Nagpur, for their ICC World Twenty20 qualifying Group B matches against Hong Kong, Scotland and Afghanistan. — Sports Reporter/Zimcricket.