Star Sri Lanka batter Dinesh Chandimal was taken to hospital for a precautionary scan after suffering an injury to his shoulder and neck during Sri Lanka’s first Test against India in Galle. The incident happened in the morning session of Day 4 when Chandimal attempted to stop a boundary from KL Rahul.
He had to cover considerable ground from deep midwicket towards deep square leg before launching himself at the ball in an effort to keep it inside the boundary. Chandimal managed to prevent the four and saved two runs. However, he landed heavily after the dive and appeared to be in significant discomfort.
The Sri Lankan batter remained down beyond the boundary as his teammates, physiotherapist and team doctor came across to attend to him. He was seen holding his neck and head at different points while also appearing to be in pain around his shoulder.
Chandimal eventually managed to get back on his feet. He made his way towards the dressing room, although he was walking cautiously. Since he couldn’t continue fielding, Pasindu Sooriyabandara replaced him as Sri Lanka’s substitute fielder.
Extent of Chandimal’s injury remains unclear
The extent of Chandimal’s injury will become clearer after the scan. If it reveals a serious problem involving his neck, Sri Lanka could seek to replace him with a concussion substitute for the remainder of the Test. Sooriyabandara, who is the reserve top-order batter in the squad, is the favourite at the moment.
Meanwhile, Chandimal’s contribution with the bat had been limited in Sri Lanka’s first innings. He made only four runs as the hosts conceded a 178-run lead to India.
India had a poor start on Day 4
Yashasvi Jaiswal, who failed to find momentum in the longest format of the game lately, failed to open his tally on Day 4. He departed for a duck before KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal stitched a 65-run stand. Prabhat Jayasuriya eventually got the better of the senior cricketer, who departed scoring 35. Captain Shubman Gill then joined Padikkal in the middle, but he too failed to make an impact, scoring 8. With that, India lost three wickets for only 81 runs.
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