After being bowled out for 263 on the third morning, the Sri Lanka seamers came out all guns blazing, reducing England to 70-6 in the second innings. Lahiru Kumara was the wrecker-in-chief, taking three of the first six wickets to fall, as England's 58-run first innings lead started looking tiny.
However, amidst a spirited performance with the ball, Sri Lanka suffered a blow when their wicketkeeper and one of their most experienced batters, Dinesh Chandimal injured himself while grabbing a Lahiru Kumara delivery down the leg side.
On the fifth ball of the 18th over, one ball after Kumara had dismissed Chris Woakes, he sent down a wild bouncer down the leg side to Gus Atkinson, for which Chandimal had to fly to his left. He caught the ball, but fell awkwardly, injuring himself in the process.
After struggling to get up, Chandimal was helped off the ground by two substitute fielders as he held his own back. Chandimal had real difficultly in going up the stairs to the dressing room as well, taking one gingerly step at a time.
Mark Wood has been ruled out of action for the rest of the year after scans revealed he had picked up a stress injury to his right elbow.@Katya_Wisden examines his workload in the lead up to his latest injury.
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) September 8, 2024
Read here ➡️ https://t.co/mpvRzZfseq pic.twitter.com/ezWxcrkB8M
Nishan Madushka, who kept wicket in the previous Test but was dropped for this one, subbed in for Chandimal and has been acting as the wicketkeeper since. Official word from Sri Lanka on the status of Chandimal's injury is awaited.
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