Our Bureau
London
Everyone expected that Rishabh Pant won’t come out to play after he suffered a gruesome injury on Day 1 of the fourth Test. There were even reports suggesting that he is out for the series and soon India would be announcing a replacement for him but what happened on Day 2 was not expected by anyone watching the match
The wicket-keeper batsman shocked everyone as he walked out to bat, limping and visibly in pain, and was welcomed by the crowd with a huge roar and a round of applause. England bowlers started targeting Pant’s injured foot with several yorkers and English skipper Ben Stokes was spearheading the attack.
However, the social media was not happy with the English skipper’s tactics against the wicket-keeper batter. Stokes targeted Pant’s injured foot with several yorkers that left social media users fuming. One of the social media users commented on how the English skipper is targeting Pant’s leg but his side complained of the bouncers being bowled to tailenders. He wrote, “Stokes targeting Pant’s left leg which is fair but then the same English side will whine if our bowlers bowl short at the tailenders.”
Another user applauded Pant’s grit and determination and tipped his hat to the Vice-captain of the Indian team. Although Pant was limping, he stood there facing each and every delivery and making every run count. The user wrote, “Ball almost hitting Pant on his right foot again… This is very tough to watch… He is playing with a broken foot… Still taking the pacers on… Hats off Pant…”
As for the match, India was dismissed for 358 with Stokes taking 5 wickets and Jofra Archer accounting for 3. Pant completed his heroic half century but was dismissed by a ripper from Archer. When the Englishmen came out to bat it looked like a completely different pitch as both Zack Crawley and Ben Duckett displayed Bazball in its truest form, smashing Indian bowlers left and right. England ended the day with 252 for the loss of two wickets in just 46 overs bowled.
