India endured a huge injury scary during the closing moments of the first day of the 2nd Test against South Africa against Johannesburg when Mohammed Siraj, one of their premier pacers, hobbled off the field after hu did some damage to what it seemed like his hamstring. Just as Siraj was about to delivery the ball, he pulled out at the last minute, immediately squealing and urgently walking off the field with the physio.
As he walked off the field, Siraj kept clutching his hamstring, indicating that it may be the issue after all. After the day's play, during the press conference, India spinner and Siraj's teammate R Ashwin provided an update on the fast bowler and addressed whether the injury was something India should worry about.
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"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.
Ashwin feels that the team's first innings tally is a “bit short” but he expects the unit to bounce back and make something out of it. After electing to bat first, India were bowled out on 202 on Day 1 of the second Test in Johannesburg, following which South Africa reached 35/1 at stumps. Proteas captain Dean Elgar along with Keegan Petersen will resume the action on Day 2 as the hosts currently trail by 167 runs.
Asked about what would have been an ideal total, Ashwin noted that any total is tricky in South Africa, before adding 250-plus would have been a good score. He backed India's ‘bowling arsenal’ and hoped Siraj would be fit to contribute with the ball on Day 2.
“Good total in South Africa has been tricky, especially in the first innings. It's always a good thing to win the toss and bat first and you want to post a good score in excess of maybe 260 or 270 which is around about score,” Ashwin said. "South Africa always batted first (in the past) and got in excess of 250 and dominated games. Maybe we are a bit short. But I still think we've got with our entire bowling arsenal available tomorrow. Fingers crossed. We can definitely make something out of this total."
The spinner also hoped that the pitch to quicken up on day two.
"I just felt the pitch was a little two paced. Generally, the Wanderers has the tendency to start a bit slower and start getting quicker. It did quicken up a bit but it just feels a little different to a typical wanderers pitch so we'll have to wait and see how it responds tomorrow," he pointed out.