Rohan Chowdhury in Manchester
Defying all media reports of him being ruled out of the rest of the series due to his fractured toe, it was Rishabh Pant who came limping down the stairs of the dressing room at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground. Nobody would have imagined.
The day started, almost in similar weather conditions as Day 1, gloomy and cloudy, a bit of wind. Ben Stokes took the new ball, and it was Chris Woakes again who started the attack.
With the new ball, and the breezy conditions, Woakes, along with Jofra Archer from the other end, made the ball talk — serious movements, more than the previous day. Both Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja seemed struggling to control the movement and the early breakthrough came in the 84th over.
Edge and caught at second slip, as Archer got the better of Jadeja, with Harry Brook making no mistake to catch it.
Washington Sundar, along with Thakur, held the crease for quite some time though both had issues with the venomous movement the England pacers were getting.
Thakur was caught at the gully by Ben Duckett on 41 — Stokes this time beating him with the swing.
Then came the moment that the whole stadium cheered. Pant received a standing ovation from the crowd. He touched the boundary rope and offered a prayer, perhaps thanked the divine providence as he walked up to the crease.
No-one would have imagined, that the player who suffered a fractured toe, who came to the venue in a moonboot, would come on to face the likes of Stokes, Archer, Woakes and Carse.
Rain interrupted the play around 12:50 pm local time, and lunch was called 10 minutes earlier to the scheduled time.
Brief scores at lunch: India 321-6 (Washington Sundar 20*, Rishabh Pant 39*)
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