Indian opener Murali Vijay injured in a Ranji Trophy match against Andhra
Indian opener Murali Vijay was forced to retire hurt during Tamil Nadu's first-round match against Andhra at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai. Vijay, who was batting on 13 in the second session of day three, took for a single and ended up twisting his ankle. He looked in a lot of pain and was forced to limp off the ground for treatment.
This is Vijay's comeback game as the right-hander is returning to cricket after recovering from a wrist injury he sustained in the Test series against Australia earlier this year. He had to undergo a surgery and because of that, he missed the IPL. A few months later, he was named in the Indian squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka in July-August and he asked for a release as his wrist failed to heal completely and the batsman felt that he needed some time to recover completely.
He made a return to action in the TNPL where he played few matches for Lyca Kovai Kings and took part in the Duleep Trophy where he played for India Green. This season's Ranji Trophy was a perfect platform for him to prove his fitness and form ahead of the series against Sri Lanka and the subsequent South Africa tour.
In the first innings, he got out cheaply and in the second innings, he looked good before he walked off due to injury. The extent of the injury is not yet known but the right-hander didn't come out to bat at the fall of both the Tamil Nadu wickets.
The Abhinav Mukund-led team was more reliant on the Indian opener as they already conceded the first-innings of 133 after being bundled out for just 176 in the first innings. Baba Aparajith top-scored for the hosts with 53 while the number 11 batsmen K Vignes scored some crucial runs to take the team to a respectable yet below-par score.
In return, B Sandeep's century and a half-century from Ashwin Hebbar took Andhra to 309 from 64-5. R Ashwin took four wickets conceding 71 runs while K Vignesh scalped three. Trailing by 133, TN are 86/2 with skipper Mukund and B Aparajith at the crease. Kaushik Gandhi and Baba Inderjith are the batsmen back in the pavilion while Vijay can come out to bat whenever he is ready.