In a series of curious updates, India bowling coach Morne Morkel has dropped a problematic update on Rishabh Pant's fitness, with clouds of uncertainty surrounding the wicketkeeper-batter's involvement for the remainder of the second and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Pant endured an injury on the opening day and was forced to retire hurt, although he later came back to bat on Day 2.
Big update on Rishabh Pant's fitness
Interestingly, Pant did not take the field during Sri Lanka's innings, with Dhruv Jurel taking over the keeping duties. While opening up on Pant's fitness, Morne Morkel revealed that Pant's shoulder is "badly bruised" and will be assessed overnight to know if he can bat tomorrow if required.
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"Rishabh Pant’s shoulder is badly bruised. He will be assessed overnight, we want his experience behind the stumps because he reads the game really well," said Morkel at the press conference after Day 3.
It will be interesting to see if Pant can bat on the fourth day of the second and final game of the series. Notably, Pant scored a brilliant half-century in the first innings of the fist innings.
Late fightback from Sri Lanka
Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar turned the tide after lunch by producing an edge of Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva, while Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj quickly dismissed Sooriyabandara and Niroshan Dickwella in quick succession. Sri Lanka slipped into deep trouble at 173 for 7, but a resolute, counter-attacking fifty from Sonal Dinusha provided much-needed fightback to delay India's push for the trail.
Dinusha's stubborn unbeaten resistance, supported by the tail, pushed Sri Lanka past 250 before dark clouds gathered over Colombo. A heavy precipitation forced the players off the field late in the final session, but with Sri Lanka eight wickets down and still well adrift of India's towering target, Shubman Gill's side remains poised to enforce total control on Day 4.