India bowling coach Morne Morkel shared a grim update on Rishabh Pant after the wicketkeeper-batter failed to take the field on the second and third days of the ongoing Colombo Test against Sri Lanka.
During the third session on Day 1, Sri Lankan pacer Lahiru Kumara struck Pant on his wrist with a sharp, rising delivery. Visibly in pain, he was forced to retire hurt after scoring just 3 runs.
Defying the injury, the southpaw walked back out to bat on the morning of Day 2 and went on to add 60 more runs to his earlier tally.
Following India’s first-innings declaration at 503/9, however, Pant didn’t come to field in the final few minutes of play before stumps as Dhruv Jurel donned the keeping gloves. The same story continued for the entire duration of play on the third day.
After the close of play, Morkel addressed a press conference, where he revealed that Pant’s shoulder was badly bruised.
“Rishabh obviously has been hit on the shoulder. I think it was discussed last night. He is quite badly bruised. He was just a little bit restricted in his movement this morning during warm-up. We know how important it is if you create opportunities, that we take those opportunities. I think they will keep monitoring him overnight,” Morkel told reporters.
“Hopefully, he will be behind the stumps for us tomorrow. I think it is important to have him there. His reading of the game is exceptional,” he added.
Coming to the match, the hosts ended the rain-marred Day 3 at 265/8, needing another 39 runs to avoid the follow-on.
Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, Sri Lanka's Pasindu Sooriyabandara slammed a superb 80 in just his second Test match. After his dismissal, Sonal Dinusha showed his class, reaching 85* by the end of day's play. For India, pacer Prasidh Krishna and left-arm spinner Manav Suthar took three wickets each.
Earlier, Devdutt Padikkal (117) and Dhruv Jurel (115*) smashed centuries to push India’s first innings score in excess of 500 runs. Asitha Fernando was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka, claiming four wickets.
