Pant battles injury, notches gritty half-century for India
Having been forced off the field on Day 1 owing to a nasty blow to his right foot, India's wicket-keeper-batter returned to bat on Day 2 in Manchester.
Adding to India’s injury woes during the ongoing five-match ICC World Test Championship series, India wicket-keeper-batter Rishabh Pant was ruled out of action as a wicket-keeper for the Manchester Test.
However, the 27-year-old displayed immense grit and resilience as he walked out to bat for India on Day 2 despite his injury.
Resuming his innings at 37, Pant finished with 54 runs off 75 deliveries, which included three fours and two maximums. This marked his third half-century in the series to go with two hundreds.
With 479 runs from seven innings at an average of 68.43, Pant is the second-highest run-getter in the five-Test series behind Shubman Gill. He was eventually dismissed by Jofra Archer as England restricted India to 358 in their first innings.
𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: Rishabh Pant, who sustained an injury to his right foot on Day 1 of the Manchester Test, will not be performing wicket-keeping duties for the remainder of the match. Dhruv Jurel will assume the role of wicket-keeper.
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 24, 2025
Despite his injury, Rishabh Pant has joined the…
In his stead, Dhruv Jurel will assume the role of wicket-keeper.
Pant sustained the injury while batting on the opening day of the Manchester Test, when he was hit on his right boot off a Chris Woakes full-length delivery.
The incident occurred in the 68th over when Pant attempted to reverse sweep Woakes, but instead nicked the ball onto his right foot.
Earlier, an official statement from the BCCI had confirmed, “Rishabh Pant, who sustained an injury to his right foot on Day 1 of the Manchester Test, will not be performing wicket-keeping duties for the remainder of the match.”
After receiving immediate treatment from the physio and in visible discomfort, Pant was forced off the field during India’s first innings at Old Trafford.
The BCCI had stated that he was taken for scans following the incident on Day 1.
Having already lost all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy for the rest of the series and pacer Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh due to injuries following the Lord’s Test, Pant’s injury presents another challenge to India as the tourists look to bounce back, trailing 2-1 in the series.
Being put in to bat first in Manchester after England won the toss, India closed the day with 264 runs on the board at the loss of four wickets.