In his second innings after a three-month injury lay-off, Rishabh Pant came close to the perfect return before missing a century on day four of the India A versus South Africa A unofficial Test at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Resuming his knock from his overnight score of 64, the India A captain was speeding towards his century before falling on 90 off 113 deliveries in India A’s 275-run chase on the final day. Pant’s knock comprised 11 fours and four sixes before he holed out to the bowling of Tiaan van Vuuren.
Pant had suffered a toe injury during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England. He was struck flush on the foot by a delivery from pacer Chris Woakes while attempting a reverse hoick in the fourth Test at the end of July. The injury was severe enough that he had to be helped off the field and was unable to keep wickets. Despite this, Pant returned to bat with his foot in a cast to help save the match for his country.
“It was really challenging for me,” Pant said in a BCCI video. “I had that fracture in England and had to go through the whole process. First part of the process was healing. For the first six weeks, you have to heal the fracture and then you come to the CoE. The healing went well.”
“I started my rehab slowly. Went through a bit of physio work in the initial days. Then slowly moved towards working on my strength and from there started the second phase. Right now I am here with you, fully recovered, thanks to CoE for that,” he added.
“Being positive is really a mindset thing. During injury you tend to get demotivated. The energy levels are not great, you are frustrated. But if you can do small things that make you feel good, you have to do that also. Especially when you are injured.”
