Manchester, July 24 Vice-captain Rishabh Pant hobbled out to bat for India despite a fractured right foot and managed to be unbeaten on 39 off 55 balls as the visitors’ reached 321/6 in 105 overs at lunch on day two of fourth Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test against England at Old Trafford on Thursday.
It was a session where India scored 57 runs from 22 overs, before rain brought an early end to the proceedings. Though Pant did not look comfortable while running between the wickets, the visuals of him taking the support of railings to come out to bat and Shardul Thakur giving him a little pat on the head before stepping on to the field showed the desire to fight through the pain and contribute to his team's cause, as India crossed the 320-run mark.
With Washington Sundar unbeaten on 20, India will be confident of having a big first innings total while England will wish to end their innings after taking out Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja. In the morning, Archer continuously found Jadeja's outside edge before eventually getting the left-hander to nick behind and Harry Brook at second slip took the catch, as he fell for 20.
Thakur and Washington Sundar managed to survive a tough examination from England’s bowlers to stitch a 48-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Thakur was proficient in hitting three boundaries while making 41 off 88 balls before his resistance was finally broken when he was drawn into a drive off Ben Stokes and edged to a diving Ben Duckett at gully.
His dismissal brought an injured Pant onto the crease amidst rapturous applause from the spectators. Though Pant hobbled to complete his singles, he then had to make the long walk back to the pavilion with Sundar, leaving the cricketing world astounded and in awe of his warrior-like spirit.
Brief Scores: India 321/6 in 105 overs (B Sai Sudharsan 61, Yashasvi Jaiswal 58; Ben Stokes 3-55, Liam Dawson 1-45) against England
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