India’s fourth Test against England at Old Trafford took a concerning turn when star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant sustained a foot injury during his innings. The incident occurred while Pant was building a solid partnership with Sai Sudharsan. Midway through his promising knock, Pant was forced to retire hurt after injuring his right foot, prompting uncertainty around his participation in the rest of the Test match.
Pant had scored a confident 37 off 48 balls and added 72 runs with Sudharsan before the injury struck in the 68th over. Attempting a reverse sweep off Chris Woakes, the ball took an inside edge and struck Pant’s foot. Although England went for a review thinking it was LBW, replays confirmed the ball had touched the bat first. Despite that, Pant was clearly in agony and couldn’t put weight on his injured foot. He received medical attention on the field but had to be taken off on a stretcher buggy.
Sanjiv Goenka Sends a Message of Strength
The news of Pant’s injury sparked reactions from across the cricketing community. Among the notable messages came one from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka, who expressed heartfelt support for Pant and hoped for a speedy recovery.
“𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝑹𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒉. 𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓. 𝑾𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚,” 𝑮𝒐𝒆𝒏𝒌𝒂’𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅, 𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔.
This is particularly significant as Pant recently made a strong comeback to international cricket after a life-threatening car accident in 2022 followed by a long rehabilitation period.
Sudharsan Shares Update on Pant’s Condition
Following the day’s play, Sai Sudharsan offered an update on Pant’s condition during a post-match interview.
“𝑶𝒉, 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚. 𝑪𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆’𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘,” 𝑺𝒖𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
Sudharsan added that the team would certainly miss Pant’s presence in the middle but expressed confidence in the remaining batting lineup to make up for the loss.
India Ends Day 1 in a Strong Position Despite Setback
Despite the loss of Pant, India closed Day 1 in a commanding position at 264/4 after 83 overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) and KL Rahul (46) gave India a robust start with a 94-run opening stand. Sudharsan continued the momentum by scoring his maiden Test half-century (61), while captain Shubman Gill managed just 12.
Later, Ravindra Jadeja (19*) and Shardul Thakur (19*) saw off the remaining overs to take India safely to stumps. The injury to Pant remains a major concern, but India’s overall performance on Day 1 kept them in a promising position.
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