A prominent bruise on Rishabh Pant's left arm that needed a whole ice pack should be enough to mark his grit. Last time, in the 2021-22 Border Gavaskar Trophy, at the Gabba, Rishabh Pant was right on the other side when Cheteshwar Pujara took 11 blows on his body. From spilling out the bat out of pain after a ball hit Pujji's thumbs to getting his helmet's strap flying away, Pujara took everything on his body, anchoring the innings, while Pant escalated from the other side. However, this time, it seems like it's Pant's time. Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood's replacement, has been delivering shorts and lengths targeting his ribs. Two of the balls managed to pass between his bat and chest, thumping on his ribs. One of the balls hit his helmet. One from Mitchell Starc hit so hard that he had to take off his helmet. Even Starc went to check on him. Rishabh Pant took a number of heavy hits to the body.#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/TdyJ1qhm9C — cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 3, 2025 His arms had already got the mark, and the physio walked down carrying an ice pack. He is strapped and is fighting for his team on the pitch. Right after Tea, just another ball from Boland made space to fire his thighs, and he walked to the side visibly suffering from pain. Read also: Rishabh Pant's Six Hits Sightscreen, Requires a Ladder! Rohit Sharma opted out After reports and speculation, Rohit Sharma finally opted out of the Sydeny Test considering his ongoing slump. Earlier, in the press conference after Melbourne's defeat, Sharma said that youngsters need some rectifications, and he himself is doing well. Nevermind, Dhruv Jurel was benched to make space for Sharma in the second Test, and then Shubman Gill fell victim in the fourth. When critics started hinting at the word "selfish" for the captain, Jasprit Bumrah, the stand-in captain denied such claims, calling none selfish in the team. Notably, India won the toss and decided to bat first, witnessing just another top-order disaster!