Umpire Rohan Pandit winces in pain as Sanju Samson's deflected shot strikes his knee in IND vs SA 2025 5th T20I [In Picture]

On-field umpire Rohan Pandit became an injury casualty during India's pyrotechnics with the bat in the fifth T20I against South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday, December 19. The match official was struck on his knee after Sanju Samson's full-blooded drive deflected off bowler Donovan Ferreira's hands.

During the ninth over of the innings, part-time spinner Ferreira was introduced into the attack, and was greeted by consecutive boundaries by Tilak Varma. Soon, Sanju Samson got back on strike, and he instantly tried to take on the favorable match-up.

The opening batter's eyes lit up against a ball in the slot, which he tried to smash down the ground. While he struck the delivery well, it was straight back to the bowler. Ferreira could not hold onto the ball that was travelling at a rapid pace, and after deflection, it headed straight towards the umpire.

Although the bowler had slowed down the ball a touch, it was still heading at a menacing pace. As a result, the umpire could not move away from its path in time and took a blow to the knee.

Rohan Pandit collapsed to the ground, and writhed in pain after being struck, prompting the physios from both camps to make their way onto the field to assess the situation. Have a look at the incident right here:

After a brief treatment, the umpire was back on his feet to officiate the proceedings. Before play resumed, Sanju Samson issued an apology despite the incident being unintentional.

Team India continue to deal in boundaries during IND vs SA 2025 5th T20I

The Indian batters have been striking boundaries right from the word go, making the most of a brilliant batting surface in the series finale. The injury to the umpire was only a mere pause in the free-flowing display as the hosts picked up right where they left things off.

Although the Men in Blue lost the wicket of Sanju Samson the very next over, Tilak Varma has maintained the run flow with some effortless boundaries. At the time of writing, India are in a comfortable position at 109-2 after 11 overs, with Suryakumar Yadav settling in as the new batter.

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Edited by Gokul Nair