Rishabh Pant was given a huge round of applause by the crowd present at Old Trafford Stadium in manchester for his grit and determination to bat despite injury to his toe. The Indian wicketkeeper-batter who limped his way to the crease ended up delivering a half-century for the ages despite England pacers targeting his injured toe.
Ben Stokes spotted Pant’s limping after which the England skipper and pacer Jofra Archer went full and fast, often yorker-length, testing Pant’s ability to withstand pain more than technique.
A particularly striking moment came when Archer unleashed a rapid yorker that Pant somehow dug out with a mix of instinct and agony.
Eventually, it was Archer who ended the stand. Ironically, not with a yorker, but a good-length ball outside off that Pant edged onto his stumps. The damage was done, though 55 crucial runs saw India drag itself to 358.
Fans react to England's yorker tactic
England on top as Indian bowlers struggle for wickets
While the day truly belonged to Pant for his gritty performance. Stokes etched his name into the scorebook with his first five-wicket haul in over eight years. Stokes’ 5-72 helped England bowl out India for 358.
At stumps, England reached 225/2 in 46 overs and trail India by 133 runs. Duckett (94) and Crawley (84) then put on a superb opening partnership of 166 off 195 balls to rattle India. Both the batsmen failed to convert their start into centuries.
While Crawley fell to Ravindra Jadeja, Duckett missed his century by 6 runs with debutant Anshul Kambog getting him caught behind the stump. But with Joe Root and Ollie Pope unbeaten on 11 and 20 respectively. The duo ensured that England didn’t lose any more wickets in the last 30 minutes before the day’s play ended in their favour. England will be confident to get a big score and take a first innings lead.
