Rishabh Pant Takes the Field with a Heavily Strapped Knee to Lead India's Fightback

It is another day of cloudy and overcast conditions at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru as Team India looks to stage a comeback against New Zealand in the ongoing first Test. Trailing in the game, Rohit Sharma and his team will be eager to erase the deficit and establish a commanding lead to put the visitors under pressure in the final innings. One of the key talking points before Day 4 was the potential inclusion of Rishabh Pant at No.5 in the batting order, adding to the intrigue of the match situation. It remains to be seen how the young wicketkeeper-batsman will perform if given the opportunity to showcase his skills under challenging circumstances. With the match delicately poised, fans are eagerly awaiting the outcome of this crucial encounter between two top-tier cricketing nations.

For the uninitiated, Rishabh Pant had suffered a blow on his knee on the second day of the ongoing Test, and he then did not take the field on the subsequent Day 3. During the tea break on the third day, Rishabh Pant was seen practicing batting, however, whether he would out to bat, was a question, which was not answered.

Before the start of play on Day 4, Rishabh Pant was seen practicing in the middle, and doing gentle jogs. He also had his knee heavily strapped. Minutes later, to everyone's delight, Rishabh Pant was seen walking out to the middle, alongside the overnight batter Sarfaraz Khan.

Speaking of Rishabh Pant, the wicketkeeper-batter did not take the field on Day 3, and substitute Dhruv Jurel was seen doing the wicketkeeping duties.

On the third day of the ongoing Test, the BCCI had also provided an update on Pant, saying, the wicketkeeper batter would not be taking the field on Day 3 as the BCCI's medical team is monitoring his progress.

Earlier, India captain Rohit Sharma had also confirmed that Rishabh Pant received a blow on the same knee, which was operated upon last year, after the wicketkeeper was involved in a horrific car crash.

In the first innings, Rishabh Pant was the highest run-scorer for Team India as the hosts were bundled out for just 46, their lowest total at home. The left-handed batter played a knock of 20 runs.

Coming back to the ongoing Test, Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant started confidently on Day 4. Earlier, New Zealand gained a lead of 356 runs, owing to a century by Rachin Ravindra. Devon Conway and Tim Southee also scored half-centuries for the Kiwis.