No Rishabh Pant on Day 3; Jurel Continues with the Gloves

Dhruv Jurel has continued to be the substitute for Rishabh Pant on Day 3 of the first test against New Zealand at Bengaluru, as the later suffered from a niggle while keeping a ball from one of the spinners.

On Day 2, Pant left the field after succumbing to a knee injury as the ball snuck under his gloves and struck him on his kneecap while keeping wickets.

Updates from Captain

Earlier in the morning, Indian men's test captain Rohit Sharma informed that the ball hit Pant's previously operated knee. Thus, the team's medical unit is no hurry to take any risk.

On Thursday, Rohit told, "unfortunately, the knee. The ball went and hit straight on his knee cap, the leg which he had surgery on. So, he has got a little bit of swelling on it. The muscles are bit tender at this point of time. It's a precautionary measure." 

He also added that the team will wait until he recovers fully.

Concernfor the team

Winning the toss, India decided to bat first. The Kiwis have bowled out India for 46 runs in the first inning, their lowest first inning total so far. 

Read Also: Lowest test scores for India in test history 

Coming to bat, New Zealand left the field for lunch unless they scored a massive 345 runs, losing 7 wickets.

Devon Conway missed his well deserved hundred, got bowled out by Aswin, scoring 91 runs. However, Rachin Ravindra completed his ton just before the lunch. Having Tim Southee on the other side, Rachin gave a 299 lead to New Zealand for now, enjoying a pretty much safer side in the match.

In such a condition, Rishabh's presence looks inevitable. The miracle that India is looking for will look distant if Rishabh is not fit enough to take the field.

However, is it risk worthy to let Rishabh bat, is still a matter of time.