[WATCH] IND vs SA: Umpire Rohan Pandit Grunts In Pain After Sanju Samson’s Indirect Shot Hits His Knee

On-field umpire Rohan Pandit had a tough day at work when he got injured during India’s batting demolition against South Africa in the fifth T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday, December 19. The match official hurt his knee by a ball that got deflected off Sanju Samson’s shot during the latter’s aggressive batting. The whole episode happened when Samson went for a powerful drive that hit bowler Donovan Ferreira’s hands and bounced towards Pandit, who was left needing medical attention on the field.

Samson’s role in the match was crucial, as he had just come back from his injury and, therefore, the wicketkeeper-batter was a significant part of the playing XI. The batsman took the place of Shubman Gill, who was injured, marking his first appearance in the series. His absence before this match was quite pronounced; he had missed the last six games of the tour, including three T20Is against Australia, so his return to the field was especially significant; however, it was marred by the unfortunate incident involving the umpire.

Sanju Samson’s Indirect Shot Hits the Umpire’s Knee

Sanju Samson ಬಾರಿಸಿದ ಹೊಡೆತಕ್ಕೆ Umpire ಫೆಲ್ ಡೌನ್!👀

📺 ವೀಕ್ಷಿಸಿ | #INDvSA 👉 5th T20I | LIVE NOW | ನಿಮ್ಮ Star Sports ಕನ್ನಡ & JioHotstar ನಲ್ಲಿ.#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/lDjr7gtuhD

— Star Sports Kannada (@StarSportsKan) December 19, 2025

In the ninth over, a part-time spinner, Donovan Ferreira, made his entry into the bowling attack and right away he had to face the aggressive batting of Tilak Varma, who hit two boundaries in a row. In the case of Sanju Samson coming to bat, he is the one who very quickly took advantage of the good matchup against the part-time bowler.

The delivery was in the slot and Samson’s eyes were looking for that moment and he tried to send it strongly down the ground. The shot was good and the ball was very fast going back to Ferreira. The bowler missed the catch and after hitting his hands, the ball went straight towards umpire Rohan Pandit at an alarming speed.

Ferreira had just a bit of success in that he managed to reduce the speed of the ball a fraction through his missed catch attempt, but still, the ball was fast when it reached the umpire. Pandit could not get out of the way of the ball at that moment and his knee took a serious hit and he fell to the ground with pain written all over his face.

The physios of both teams rushed in from the sidelines to give immediate medical evaluation and treatment. Pandit was given a very short attention period but he was still able to officiate after his recovery. Samson apologized for the unintentional incident before play was resumed, with a lot of grace.

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