Rishabh Pant was seen struggling with the bat after his left elbow was hit. (AP) The Indian cricket team’s injury woes continued to worsen after wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja were taken for scans following injuries on day three of the third Test in Sydney. Pant was the first to cop a blow when he was hit on the left elbow while batting in the second session and was thereafter taken to the hospital for scans. Wriddhiman Saha, who was dropped from the playing XI after the first Test defeat, put on his wicketkeeping gloves in the second innings on Saturday.
The incident took place when Pant tried to pull the penultimate delivery of the 85th over from Cummins but with the ball not bouncing as much as expected, the southpaw ended up playing over the ball and resultantly missing it.
Ouch! Pant cops one on the elbow #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/26SAgfh6mV
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 9, 2021
Pant was assisted by the Indian physio and was back with the bat with a taped elbow but did not survive for long and was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood for 36 runs.
India’s injury problems worsen
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was also hit by a short ball on his left thumb while trying to fend off a shortish delivery and needed on-field treatment. He was seen sitting in the dressing room when the team took the field in the second innings. According to BCCI, Jadeja has also been taken for scans leaving the Indian attack hamstrung.
UPDATE – Ravindra Jadeja suffered a blow to his left thumb while batting. He has been taken for scans.#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/DOG8SBXPue
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 9, 2021
A relentless Patrick Cummins and a mean Josh Hazlewood dismissed India for 244 after Cheteshwar Pujara’s slowest half-century helped Australia take complete command at Tea on the third day. Australia took a first-innings lead of 94 runs and it would be an uphill task for India to make a comeback in this match.