Indian off spinner R Ashwin got hit on the right hand during practice session at the Essex County ground. He was rested on second day of the practice match as a precautionary measure.
The good news for team India is that physio stated this to be a minor injury. Ashwin was later spotted bowling in nets during the lunch break but did not take field for the entire day.
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Batting first, Indian team got to a total of 395 runs with five Indian batsman scoring half centuries. Though no one went onto score a hundred but it was a much needed practice for team India. Dinesh Karthik scored top-scored with 82 runs. he could not score a single run on day 2 as he was dismissed by Paul Walter early in the morning session.
English conditions has experienced heat wave in the recent days which will make things easier for spinners and with a heavy spin department Virat Kohli’s side will fancy their chances against the home team. It appears as if team India have taken the sub continent conditions along with them to avenge the heavy defeat they faced in 2014 against an intriguing England side.
R Ashwin will hold key going into the battle as he has played a lot of county cricket in recent times. He also displayed different varieties in IPL 2018 which will also come handy in the Test series.
“He will reinvent himself because he feels challenged, he knows Kuldeep is up for his Test spot. You saw the leg spin in the IPL, he will get better and he deserves a lot more opportunities.”, said former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly.