Joe Root will bat in the 2nd innings despite injuring his finger. The former England captain left the field after sustaining injury to his right little finger in the 8th over of the day. He left the field and did not come back the entire Day 3. England sent Rehan Ahmed as the night watchman after R Ashwin dismissed Ben Duckett. But injury notwithstanding, lead pacer James Anderson Root will be available at No 4 in IND vs ENG 2nd Test as England chase a record 399-run target in Vizag.
“His finger is not great. 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,” James Anderson told TNT Sport after the end of Day 3 of IND vs ENG 2nd Test.
Joe Root injury
It was only 8th over of the day and England lost a bowler in Joe Root. The Test all-rounder already hurt his right little finger during training and as Shreyas Iyer edged James Anderson to the slip, it bounced short and hurt Root in the process.
“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,” James Anderson confirmed.
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With Ben Stokes not bowling and Joe Root unavailable, England had to use rookie spin trio of Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir. But even then, England managed to bowl India out for 255 in the 2nd innings of IND vs ENG 2nd Test in Vizag.
However, with that India set a massive 399-run target for England. Ben Stokes & Co have chased down 378 already against India but their record in Asia isn’t great. Their highest successful run chase in India is only 208 and they need a Bazball miracle on Day 4.
“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,” Anderson added.
