Reports : Ravichandran Ashwin suffers minor hand injury ahead of Test series

According to reports from Scroll.in, Ravichandran Ashwin was hit on the right hand during a net session on Thursday morning. To avoid any further damage, Ashwin decided not to bowl, bat or field in the solitary warm-up game. The Indian team management revealed that the physio has taken a look and deduced that it was only a minor injury. Ashwin later bowled in the nets during the lunch break.

On the second day of the ongoing three-day practice game, India were all out for 395 in 100.2 overs with Dinesh Karthik top-scoring for the visitors with his 82-run knock. There were four more half-centuries from the visitors, which included Virat Kohli's 68, KL Rahul's 58, Murali Vijay's 53 and Hardik Pandya's 51. Essex ended the day on 237/5 after 58 overs. Umesh Yadav had figures of 2-23 while Ishant Sharma returned 2-38.

The first Test would begin in Birmingham on August 1 and spinners would likely play a key role, considering the hot conditions, suitable for Indian bowlers.