India vice-captain Rishabh Pant injured his finger while keeping on Day 1 of the third Test vs England at Lord's. He left the field for treatment and was replaced by Dhruv Jurel. His availability for the rest of the match remains uncertain.
Team India has dealt with a potential blow as vice-captain Rishabh Pant left the field with an injury on Day 1 of the third Test in the ongoing five-match series against England at Lord’s in London on July 10.
After skipper Shubman Gill lost the toss for the third consecutive time in the ongoing Test series, India were asked to bat first by England captain Ben Stokes. The hosts’ openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley gave a steady start to the team’s innings as they negotiated early movement in the opening hour of Day 1.
As Duckett and Crawley were looking to form a good partnership while frustrating the Indian bowlers, Nitish Kumar Reddy gave a first breakthrough to the visitors by dismissing the latter for 23 at 43/1 in the 13th over. In the same over, the seam bowling all-rounder removed Crawley for 18 at 44/2. Two wickets in three balls brought India back into the contest, putting England on the back foot.
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Injury concern for Rishabh Pant
As Day 1 of the third Test progressed, an injury scare emerged from Team India when Rishabh Pant appeared to be in visible discomfort with an injury on his finger in the second session. The incident took place in the 33rd over of England’s first innings batting when Jasprit Bumrah delivered an angling down leg delivery to Ollie Pope and the England tried to flick it away but missed it.
Rishabh Pant dived to across but failed to gather it cleanly. However, the ball hit on the fingertips of the vice-captain, which made him wince in pain immediately. He signalled to the dressing for the treatment. Rishabh continued with his wicketkeeping duties for the remaining over, but later walked off the field and Dhruv Jurel stepped in to keep the wickets.
Rishabh Pant’s injury concern might have left Team India management a little worried, given that his presence behind the stumps and aggressive middle-order batting is a crucial asset for the visitors in the ongoing Test series against England.
Pant headed to Team India’s dressing room with physiotherapists and Gautam Gambhir and Sidanshu Kotak, who were watching the day’s play from the Lord’s balcony, immediately went inside after the wicketkeeper reached the dressing room.
Will Rishabh Pant play remainder of the Lord’s Test?
Dhruv Jurel has come in as a substitute wicketkeeper for Rishabh Pant, who is currently receiving medical attention in the dressing room. The severity of the injury has not been confirmed by Team India management. Pant walked off the field by himself with a visible discomfort on tips on one of his fingers.
Before leaving the field, Rishabh Pant had his fingers heavily bandaged to avoid aggravating the injury, but the discomfort was evident. Team India would be hoping that Pant’s injury is not serious enough to rule him out of the Lord’s Test, where the visitors are aiming to take a crucial lead in the series.
Rishabh Pant has been in incredible form in the ongoing Test series against England, as he has amassed 342 runs, including two centuries and a fifty, at an average of 85.5 in four innings.
Meanwhile, at the end of the second session, England posted a total of 151/8 after 48 overs, with Joe Root and Ollie Pope batting on 53 and 43, respectively,
