Haseeb Hameed sustains a finger injury, will bat on day 4

The breaking news from the English camp is that Haseeb Hameed has injured his finger. The promising young opener sustained the injury during India’s first innings with the bat. The finger injury forced him to stay out of action for a long while. England was forced to open with Joe Root in his absence. Joe Root, having joined Alastair Cook as the opener, has done reasonably well at the end of day 3.

When the English innings was about to commence, Haseeb Hameed was not even in his whites. This had raised a few concerns. Now the news from the English camp has confirmed his injury. However, the positive for the visitors is that the injury is not a severe one. He is expected to bat at some stage in the England second innings tomorrow.

With England finishing the day 2 at 78/4, the hosts India look dominant at the top. No wonder that they will require the services of Haseeb Hameed sometime soon. Hameed’s absence will surely hurt England in the longer run in the series. He is the only specialist opener in the England squad on the tour apart from skipper Alastair Cook.

From English team management: Haseeb Hameed has injured finger on his left hand. But he is expected to bat at some point tomorrow. #IndvEng

— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) November 28, 2016

If he fails to recover before the fourth Test, England might well have to draft a new player to the squad. Ben Duckett has opened for England in a Test in Bangladesh. He, however, looked out of sorts on the India tour in the first two Tests. It will be interesting to see what the England team does if Haseeb Hameed fails to recover.

For now, England are in tatters in the Mohali Test. India secured a healthy 134 runs lead in the first innings. Batting in the second innings, England are reeling with 4 wickets down. They still have a deficit of 56 runs to cover. The England team will have to hope for a miracle to turn the fortunes in this Test that looks to be going in only one direction.