Team India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin is optimistic that Mohammed Siraj, who pulled his hamstring while bowling on day 1 of the 2nd Test, will bowl once again in the ongoing Test at the Wanderers.
Siraj walked off the field in pain after suffering a hamstring injury while bowling on the stroke of stumps on Monday. He was immediately attended to by physio Nitin Patel before he walked off without taking any risk.
Addressing the press at the end of the day’s play, Ravichandran Ashwin said the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) medical team will monitor Siraj overnight. He added that, for now, they are icing his leg to assess the extent of the injury over the next few hours.
“So I asked Anand before going into the press conference whether I can talk about it and he said I can. The medical staff are assessing him overnight and obviously, I think, it’s very immediate so initially what they do with these injuries is they just ice and see it for the next hour or two. I am hoping with the history that Siraj has, he’ll definitely come out and give his best,” Ashwin said.Â
It will be a massive blow for India in the 2nd Test if Mohammed Siraj fails to recover resume bowling at the Wanderers.
However, India have suitable replacements in their squad if Siraj fails to recover ahead of the 3rd Test. The visiting side has the likes of Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma in their ranks to come in as a replacement.
South Africa trail by 167 runs in the 1st innings
Opting to bat first, the visiting side was bundled out for 202 despite a gritty half-century by stand-in captain KL Rahul. The middle-order consisting of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara failed to contribute yet again before Ravichandran Ashwin made a telling contribution with 46 runs to take the score over 200.
In reply, South Africa have looked good so far despite a couple of missed chances. They are reeling at 35/1 at the end of day 2.
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