Umpire Rohan Pandit took a painful blow to his knee during the IND vs SA 5th t20I on Friday. Pandit was standing behind the stumps when Sanju Samson slammed a ball straight down the ground. Donovan Ferreira attempted a catch, only to deflect it towards the umpire, who was a little late in moving out of the way. The umpire was in severe pain withe the physio tending to him during a brief halt in play.
The incident occurred in the 9th over of the Indian innings. Samson well settled drilled one down the ground with immense power. Ferreira attempted to complete the catch, but the sheer force meant that it burst out of his hand. The ball flew flat towards Rohan Pandit, who had little time to move out of the way. The ball hit him flush on the knee, causing him severe pain.
The umpire went down wriggling in pain as both Sanju and the rest of the South African checked on him. Physios from both teams arrived on the scene and tended to him. Fortunately, Pandit was able to resume after a brief delay in play.
Had Pandit suffered a serious injury, 4th umpire K Ananthapadmanabhan would have substituted in.
