India would consider themselves having the upper hand after stumps on day 1 of the IND vs SL 2nd Test in Colombo ended with the visitors at 300/5.
After India won the toss and elected to bat first, Devdutt Padikkal reeled a second consecutive Test match century, captain Shubman Gill scored 50 runs, while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravindra Jadeja were dismissed in the 40s.
However, India have been left worried about Rishabh Pant’s fitness as the wicket-keeper batsman is now under a cloud of an injury.
Pant came in to bat in the 52nd over of India’s first innings, but had to walk back to the dressing room in the 58th over without getting dismissed, having scored three runs off 15 balls.
IND vs SL 2nd Test: Why Did Rishabh Pant Retire Hurt On Day 1?
Pant retired hurt on day 1 in the IND vs SL 2nd Test after copping a severe blow on his wrist from a short ball from fast bowler Lahiru Kumara.
On the first ball of the 58th over of India’s innings, Pant attempted a swivel pull shot to a back-of-length delivery from Kumara. The left-hander missed his pull, and it initially seemed the ball had taken his glove as it trickled towards the leg side.
However, Pant was in visible pain, and that prompted the Indian team physio to jog out quickly. On replays, it was shown that the ball had hit Pant’s wrist bone and not the glove; with the ball missing the glove, there was no padding that could soften the blow on Pant’s wrist.
The physio applied an ice pack and then tape to Pant’s wrist but soon after removed it as pain didn’t subside for the southpaw. Eventually, after a long delay, Pant decided to retire hurt and walked away as the head coach Gautam Gambhir looked on worriedly from his seat in the dressing room balcony.
IND vs SL 2nd Test: Can Rishabh Pant bat again on day 2?
Yes, Pant is eligible to bat again at any moment on day 2 in India’s innings. He will not have to wait out a certain amount of time because his wrist injury is an external injury that occurred on the field.
Pant, however, is unlikely to do wicket-keeping duties, which will be passed on to Dhruv Jurel, who is already in the playing XI.
India will be pleased by their performance on day 1 in Colombo. Padikkal stamped his authority with another century and might have sealed his place at No. 3 even if Sai Sudharsan is available for the New Zealand Test tour.
Meanwhile, India were forced to make one change to their lineup that secured a big win in Galle: Kuldeep Yadav is down with illness, and he was replaced by the debutant Saransh Jain.
IND vs SL 2nd Test Playing XIs:
India: Shubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Mohammed Siraj, Manav Suthar, Ravindra Jadeja, Prasidh Krishna
Sri Lanka: Dhananjaya de Silva (C), Kamil Mishara, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Sonal Dinusha, Kamindu Mendis, Lahiru Udara, Prabath Jayasuriya, Keshara Nuwantha, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara
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