Dhruv Jurel replaced Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeeper before the start of the 36th over of England’s innings on the opening day of the Lord’s Test match.
The fans were confused to see Rishabh walking out. Dhruv, who was getting ready in the 35th over, quickly walked out to keep wickets before the next over. An over before this, Rishabh was attended by the medical team. Why many would be thinking that he did it to break England’s momentum, that’s not the case.
Rishabh Pant is indeed hurt. The wicketkeeper-batsman hurt his finger while collecting one of Jasprit Bumrah’s deliveries. The medical team quickly walked out to check Rishabh. They sent a word to Jurel, who got ready to keep wickets quickly.
One over later, Rishabh walked into the dressing room. It remains to be seen if Rishabh returns to keep wickets or not. The fans will hope that the finger issue doesn’t hamper Rishabh’s batting.
With 342 runs in 4 innings, Rishabh is India’s second-highest run-scorer in the series. He created history in the first Test and scored back-to-back centuries. The left-handed batsman followed up with scores of 25 and 65 in the second Test.
Talking of Jurel, he has only played one Test match since Rishabh’s Test comeback. The right-handed batsman played the Perth Test against Australia as a specialist batsman. He has been mostly on the bench since Rishabh’s return.
Dhruv can play the next game as a wicketkeeper-batsman if Rishabh isn’t fit to keep wickets. Rishabh has never played a Test match as a specialist batsman.
England breach 100-run mark
England breached the 100-run mark in the first hour of the second session on day 1. Nitish Reddy was the only Indian bowler who managed wickets in the first session. The right-arm medium pacer dismissed Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett.