Image Credit- ECB
Joe Root, who missed the most of day three of the
second Test against India nursing a broken finger, should be able to bat in
England’s fourth-innings pursuit of 399.
In the eighth over of the day, Root was hit on his
right little finger when an edge from Shreyas Iyer off James Anderson’s bowling
bounced short of him. Root had pain right away and left the field for extended
stretches of time throughout the morning session. Throughout the remainder of
India’s second innings, he remained inside the dressing room.
It meant that England had no bowling options left
after bowling two overs to begin the day’s play. Even so, they came back to
beat India for 255, thanks to the unproven spin combination of Tom Hartley,
Rehan Ahmed, and Shoaib Bashir, who combined for eight wickets to restrict
England’s goal to 399 in Visakhapatnam, giving them an unexpected 2-0 series
lead. Day four will see them resume their batting at 67 for 1, having lost to
Ravichandran Ashwin on Ben Duckett’s wicket.
Anderson, who finished with a 2 for 29, explained that
Root was held off the field as a precaution. Root’s finger was treated and iced
throughout the day by England’s medical staff. They did not see a need to send
him for a scan at the time this was written.
“His finger is not great,” said Anderson.
“He took a blow in training this morning and again on the field. It’s just
making sure that is as good as it can be for when he bats. Hopefully tomorrow
he’ll turn up at the ground and be OK to hold a bat.
“He was just making sure he could do everything
he could to help us out in the second innings, just making sure it’s as good as
possible for tomorrow. There’s a chance we will need him with the bat so it’s
making sure he can hold a bat.
“I don’t think there’s concerns. It’s making sure
he’s as good as he can be. There’s no point risking it for an external blow, no
point risking it further out in the middle, so it’s making sure he’s good
enough to bat.”