KL Rahul, Record, New Zealand vs India 2020
Photo Credit: Getty Images.

While India vs Australia ODI is running at Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai), KL Rahul has replaced Rishabh Pant for the wicketkeeping role from the beginning of the second innings of the match. This change has come after Pant got a hit on his helmet during the batting.

India and Australia are currently busy at Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai) for the opening game of the three-match ODI series. It is the first ODI for both sides in the new year. After winning the toss, the visiting captain Aaron Finch decided to field first.

India were bundled out for 255 runs (49.1 overs). While once they were batting on 134/1, the middle-order batting failed to maintain that situation. The young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant came to bat when the team was struggling on 156/4, and they soon went down on 164/5.

Rishabh Pant (Image Credit: Google)

In that tough situation, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja provided important support to the side by putting 49 runs partnership for the sixth wicket. But both of them lost their wickets after getting settled down. While Jadeja was dismissed on 25 runs, Pant lost his wicket in the next over after scoring 28 runs off 33 balls.

Rishabh Pant got a hit on his helmet during his dismissal

During his dismissal, Pant hurried to face the short delivery of the Australian pacer Pat Cummins but failed to handle that. Going to play a pull shot, a thick edge hit on his helmet, and the ball travelled towards the point where Ashton Turner took that catch comfortably. Umpire Chettithody Shamshuddin took some times before finally raising his finger to confirm that dismissal.

Rishabh Pant (Image Credit: Google)

As the ball hit on his helmet, Rishabh Pant hasn’t come on the field at the beginning of the second innings as KL Rahul has taken the wicketkeeping responsibility. The BCCI has confirmed this replacement as Pant is currently under observation.

KL Rahul (Image Credit: Google)

The BCCI wrote on the official twitter account, “Rishabh Pant has got a concussion after being hit on his helmet while batting. KL Rahul is keeping wickets in his absence. Pant is under observation at the moment.”

Though he hasn’t played as a designated wicketkeeper in the international cricket yet, KL Rahul has regularly played as a designated wicketkeeper in the Indian Premier League. In the first innings of this Mumbai ODI, Rahul scored 47 runs while only Shikhar Dhawan (74) managed to score more runs than him.