Rishabh Pant's terrible luck with injuries continued as India's wicketkeeper batter was forced to retire hurt on the first day of the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
The left-handed batter had suffered a finger injury while keeping during England's 22-run win in the third Test at Lord's. He was replaced by Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps for large parts of that match, while still managing to bat.
Pant was declared fit for the fourth Test but picked up another injury, this time while batting on Wednesday.
Pant, looking well set on 37 from 48 balls in challenging conditions, was hurt as he attempted an audacious reverse sweep off a yorker-length delivery from seamer Chris Woakes after tea.
England appealed for lbw but a review revealed wicketkeeper Pant had got an inside edge. But, more worryingly for India, the ball deflected on to his right boot.
Pant received on-field treatment and television pictures showed severe swelling on his right leg. A hobbling Pant limped into a buggy before being driven off the field.
India were 212-3, with Pant having helped Sai Sudharsan add 72 for the fourth wicket after the pair came together with the tourists faltering at 140-3.
After Pant's unfortunate exit, the well-set Sudharsan also returned to the pavilion as Ben Stokes got him out on the leg side for the third time in the series.
The left-hander was caught by Brydon Carse pulling the England captain, ending his fighting innings of 61 that came off 151 balls.
Pant's injury, however, will be the main concern for the Indian team. While they have the option of getting Jurel to keep wickets, Pant's ability to bat will be the issue as batting with a foot injury is extremely difficult.
Earlier, spinner Liam Dawson claimed his first Test wicket in eight years after making his England comeback.
Dawson was recalled for the Test after Shoaib Bashir was ruled out with a broken finger. He bowled admirably in a strong second session which saw England take three wickets.
In his first Test since 2017, Dawson forced an edge from Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) that was caught low by slip fielder Harry Brook.
The visitors lost the toss on an overcast day in Manchester and were put into bat, but the opening partnership of KL Rahul and Jaiswal kept England at bay, reaching 78-0 at lunch.
Rahul (46) was caught by Zak Crawley off Woakes early after lunch for 94-1.
And there were more cheers around the stadium when Jaiswal's innings was ended by Dawson to put India at 120-2.
Shubman Gill, the top run scorer so far in the series, had only 12 on the board before getting out in an all-too familiar fashion – trapped leg before wicket by Stokes, leaving India on 140-3.
Sudharsan, who replaced Karun Nair, played and missed early on before finding his groove. He found an able ally in Pant and looked like taking India to safety on a pitch that offered extravagant help to seamers all day.
However, Pant's injury kept India in check. All-rounders Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja were batting on 19 each when umpires called early stumps due to poor light.
India battled their way to 264-4 in 83 overs. The visitors are effectively five down.
