ENG vs IND 2025: Rishabh Pant suffers injury scare, leaves field as Dhruv Jurel takes over

Star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant left the field of play after sustaining a blow to the end of his fingers during the second session of Day 1 of the third Test between England and India. Dhruv Jurel stepped in as Pant’s substitute after the latter failed to carry on after being struck with the ball during the 34th over of England’s innings, after the hosts opted to bat first.

A delivery drifting down the leg-side from Jasprit Bumrah was failed to be flicked by Ollie Pope on the first delivery of the 34th over. It was a rather awkward take for Pant, who ended up parrying the ball towards the fine-leg fence for a couple of runs.

However, he was immediately spotted in immense pain immediately after the delivery had been called dead. The Haridwar-born was spotted jumping around in agony as the physios sped out to pull out the spray from his kit. While grimacing with pain, Pant chugged down water and some painkilling tablets to help alleviate the distress.

Jurel finally stepped onto the field at the end of that particular over. Barely an over later, he was spotted climbing up into the dressing room, with head coach Gautam Gambhir being amongst those to leave his seat on the balcony to check on the 26-year-old’s well-being.

Speaking of the opening session, India were able to grab a couple of wickets via the medium pace of Nitish Kumar Reddy. Ben Duckett (23 off 40) and Zak Crawley (18 off 43) were dismissed in the same over. Pant was involved in both dismissals. England ended on 83/2 in 25 overs at Lunch on the opening day of the all-important Test match at the Lord’s.

The sole change the visitors made was replacing Prasidh Krishna with Bumrah. The senior pacer, who was rested for the second Test, came back into the mix for the ongoing contest at the Home of Cricket. The Shubman Gill-led unit will be aiming to pick up the rest of the English wickets as quickly as possible to gain an advantage early into the clash.