India faced a major blow on the first day of the Manchester Test as wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant got hit hard on his right foot and was unable to continue batting. After having scored 37 runs from 48 deliveries, the left-hander was forced to retire hurt and was taken off the field on a golf cart as he wasn't even able to walk properly.
The swelling on Pant's foot looked to be quite serious as the 27-year-old seemed to be in visible discomfort. He was soon taken to a nearby hospital for scans, results of which are much-awaited. Even though Pant has dominated against the hosts with the bat in the series so far, England greats Nasser Hussain and Stuart Broad want the wicketkeeper-batter to make a speedy recovery and return to batting once again.
Both Hussain and Broad want Pant to recover
“It has been India's day – except for the injury to Pant. That is a big blow and it will be interesting what we hear overnight about that. Hopefully he is okay. This game needs Pant and the series has been blessed by having him in it. Both sets of fans cheered him today when he came out to bat," Hussain said following the end of Day 1.
“Pant has been wonderful to watch and commentate on. He's wonderful for world cricket, and we hope he recovers. The medical staff will be icing that swelling all night, and hopefully it's just a bruise and he can come out to bat," Broad stated.
Notably, this is the second injury that Pant has sustained in the series as in the previous match at Lord's, he wasn't able to keep the wickets for India after injuring his left index finger in England's first innings. In his place, Dhruv Jurel was called on the field to fulfill the wicketkeeping duties. Pant didn't return to the field for the second innings either as Jurel kept the wickets for India for the rest of the match.
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Meanwhile, India wrapped up the first day on 264/4 with both Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur unbeaten on 19. The visitors looked to be in a strong position at one stage thanks to fifties from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan, however the dismissals of both and Pant's injury saw them finish the day on a not so positive note. It remains to be seen how far the Men in Blue will be able to take their total on the second day of the Manchester Test.