Nehra Doubtful for final show

Ashish Nehra picked up three wickets against Pakistan

Ashish Nehra has fractured the middle finger on his right hand putting a query mark over his choice for the final match against SriLanka on Saturday. Ranjib Biswal, the Indian team manger, confirmed the development but said the team would only take a call on Friday about whether or not they could play. "Nehra has a fractured finger, which was revealed from the scans taken this morning," Biswal said.

Since the injury was on his non-bowling hand, Nehra could get through seven more overs in the match. However, there's worries they won't be able to field.

Nehra picked up the injury while trying a catch in the semi-final against Pakistan. They was fielding at deep midwicket when they tried to pick up a pull by Shahid Afridi against Yuvraj Singh. Nehra, not known a lot for his deftness in the field, charged forward to pick the ball that was dying on him at the final minute. Replays confirmed the ball had bounced in front of him but Nehra's attempt drew applause from his team-mates as well as the fullhouse. Regrettably, Nehra was grimacing in pain and immediately had his finger taped.

It was a small bit of a surprise to see Nehra in the first XI in the coursework of the semi-final, given that the man they replaced, R Ashwin, had been impressive in the three matches they had played in the event. Despite Nehra's performance of 2 for 33, and Munaf Patel's 2 for 40, India captain MS Dhoni said after the game that India had misjudged the pitch and ought to have played another spinner.

Ashwin may well have returned in lieu of either Nehra or Munaf for the final in any case, and will  definitely be in the side if Nehra does not recover. The only other pace option India have is Sreesanth, who has been left on the sidelines since the first game of the event.

Nehra had missed the first three matches of the event with a sore back and was brought in for the group-stage game against Netherlands. Against South Africa in Nagpur, they went for 65 runs in 8.4 overs, 16 off which were scored in the last over of the game, consigning India to defeat. They was then left out for India's next three games, before returning for the semi.