Subhayan Chakraborty at Lord’s
Taking painkillers while scoring runs for India, Rishabh Pant once again set his finger injury aside to put his team ahead on Day 3 of the Lord’s Test. He stitched a crucial 141-run stand with KL Rahul and completed his half-century in style. With Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair and Shubman Gill failing to convert starts, India were in a spot of bother at 107/3 in reply to England’s 387. Until that run out, Pant was bossing the bowlers.
Pant was struck on his left index finger while keeping on Day 1 and didn’t don the big gloves thereafter, with Dhruv Jurel taking over the duties behind the stumps. He hit the nets before the start of Day 2 and even during the second session, to assess whether he was facing any discomfort batting. The pain was evident, but despite that, he put his team first. He was in so much pain that batting coach Sitanshu Kotak had to assist him in putting on his gloves at the nets. Yet, Pant continued taking throwdowns. When India lost Gill, he walked out to bat. He kept shaking his injured finger after every boundary hit but didn’t let the pain affect his batting.
On Day 3, the team doctor ran out to him three times to provide painkillers and the assistance needed to allow him to continue batting. From 107/3 to until the stroke of lunch, Pant continued to fire boundaries and score runs to help India close in on England’s first innings total. Being true to his style, he fell when he tried to be selfless and bring Rahul on 98 back on strike.
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