Rishabh Pant, the star wicketkeeper-batsman, exited the pitch during the second session of Day 1 of England’s third Test against India after being struck on the end of his fingers. Dhruv Jurel replaced Pant after the latter was injured by the ball during the 34th over of England’s innings, after the hosts chose to bat first.
On the opening delivery of the 34th over, Ollie Pope failed to flick a ball from Jasprit Bumrah that was creeping down the leg side.
Rishabh Pant made a somewhat difficult take, parrying the ball towards the fine-leg barrier for a few of runs.
However, he was found in excruciating pain shortly after the birth was declared dead. The Haridwar native was seen leaping around in distress as physios rushed out to retrieve the spray from his outfit. Pant drank water and took painkillers while grimacing with pain.
Jurel eventually took the pitch at the end of that particular over. Barely an over later, he was spotted climbing into the dressing room, prompting head coach Gautam Gambhir to leave his seat on the balcony to check on the 26-year-old’s condition.
In the opening session, India was able to pick up a few of wickets thanks to Nitish Kumar Reddy’s medium pace. Ben Duckett (23 off 40) and Zak Crawley (18 off 43) both got out in the same over. Pant was involved in both firings. England were 83/2 in 25 overs at lunchtime on the first day of the crucial Test match at Lord’s.
The sole change the visitors made was replacing Prasidh Krishna with Bumrah. The senior pacer, who was rested for the second Test, came back into the mix for the ongoing contest at the Home of Cricket. The Shubman Gill-led unit will be aiming to pick up the rest of the English wickets as quickly as possible to gain an advantage early into the clash.
India
