Mark Wood's bouncer rushes Chandimal to the hospital

Dinesh Chandimal received a painful blow to his right thumb while batting on Day 3 (August 23) of the Manchester Test against England. 

Chandimal was batting on 10 off 11 balls when a Mark Wood delivery gained extra bounce from the back-of-a-length region. The right-handed batter was looking to ride the bounce and nudge it into the on-side but was undone by the pace (149 kph) and bounce.

The physio rushed out immediately, but despite the on-field treatment, Chandimal’s right hand was shaking as he struggled to clench his fist. With clear signs that he wouldn't be able to hold the bat, he had to head back to the dressing room and was rushed to the hospital for scans.

Chandimal’s injury came at a critical moment for Sri Lanka. Starting the second innings 122 runs in arrears, the visitors had another poor start — losing two wickets for just one run on the board. 

Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews forged a 51-run stand, but when Chandimal walked in, Sri Lanka were still 70 runs behind in the first innings. He had added 22 runs for the fourth wicket with Mathews when he was dealt with the lethal blow. 

Chandimal has had some wretched luck in this Test. In the first innings, he was out to a delivery that barely got off the ground. This time, he got injured to a delivery with extra bounce. 

UPDATE: The scans at the hospital showed no signs of a fracture. Chandimal returned to bat in the final half of hour of the day's play when Sri Lanka lost two wickets for 17 runs. 

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