India face the prospect of being without the leader of their attack for a sizeable chunk of the Test series after Zaheer Khan suffered a hamstring strain and was sent for a scan last night. He is due to learn the full extent of the
injury this morning
.
Zaheer, the best bowler on the day and one of the most experienced members of India’s squad, pulled up halfway through his 14th over, clutching the back of his right leg, and limped off the field. He did not reappear, leaving MS Dhoni, the India captain, with only three front-line bowlers.
The compact nature of modern tours means there will be little time for Zaheer to recover, with the second Test at Trent Bridge starting next Friday. If a hamstring tear is diagnosed, he will face at least two weeks out of action and could miss the entire series, which would be a huge bonus for England, who found his swing difficult to deal with yesterday.
Duncan Fletcher, the former England coach now in charge of India, conceded Zaheer’s injury was a blow at a time when his team were searching for a third wicket.
“It is always difficult for a batsman on a wicket like that but Zaheer is really a clever bowler,” he said. “Having chatted to him about his thoughts on how he bowls you see that he is a quality bowler and he showed it here. Zaheer bowled very well and him going off was a big blow. If he had stayed on he could have got us
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