IND vs AUS: 'Painful But Sometimes You Have To..' - Rishabh Pant After Copping Blows in Sydney Test

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Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has said the blows that he received, one on the left bicep and few in the abdominal area, were painful but was the need of the hour during his knock in the fifth and final Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

On day 1 of the Sydney Test, Pant arrived post the lunch break and endured a tough day at the office en route his 98-ball 40, copping several blows, starting with a couple from Mitchell Starc, whose short-pitch delivery struck the Indian wicketkeeper on his arm.

In the 35th over of India's innings, Pant was struck on the arm when he attempted to fend off a sharp bouncer from Starc with the impact leaving a noticeable bruise, which turned the area of impact black. Pant immediately called for medical attention, and the team physio treated the injury with an ice pack.

That was only the first of twelve blows received by the Indian wicketkeeper, who saw another fiery bouncer from Starc hit flush on the grill. While he did not show signs of pain on the field, Pant agreed it was painful, and added this is the first time he has been hit so many times in an innings.

"I mean definitely it's painful but you know sometimes you have to do the hard work for the team and that's okay. Not thinking about where I got hit but just playing the ball to the best of my abilities," Pant said in the post-day's press meet.

"I think this is the first time I've gotten hit so much but you know in cricket you can't plan anything. So everything happens for the first time at some point of time in your career. But that was me today, so, not thinking about that too much."

Pant further revealed why he batted with restraint on the opening day of the fifth Test against Australia, citing character of the SCG pitch and the game situation as the reason that did not allow him to be his customary aggressive self.

"I think in this innings, I was not in a frame of mind where I wanted to take charge of the game because the wicket was doing too much and the kind of situation we were in," Pant added.

"I would say there might be a 50-50 chance which I could have taken early on in this innings but sometimes you have to play more secure cricket especially the way, wicket was behaving."