Former India spinner R Ashwin lauded Rishabh Pant for batting with pain but at the same time criticised the wicketkeeper-batter for throwing away his wicket, which gave England a chance to come back in the Test on Day 3 at Lord’s.Rishabh Pant overcame pain in his left index finger to score an entertaining half-century before getting run out at the stroke of lunch. With Rahul closing in on a ton at the other end, Pant attempted an avoidable quick single in the last over of the session, but England skipper Ben Stokes pulled off a brilliant direct hit running in from cover to give his team something in a session controlled by the opposition.The partnership between Rahul and Pant yielded 141 runs off 198 balls. Pant, who batted through pain due to the finger injury he suffered while keeping on Day 1, made his intentions clear even against the express pace of Archer.
“In the last two years, even when I used to watch from the dressing room, I feel like this Indian team has the ability to kill the game,” Ashwin said on his Hindi YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’.“We had the chance to kill the game on Day 3. KL Rahul was batting beautifully; he looked in absolutely pristine form. His dismissal after reaching 100 was very soft.“If Rishabh could have gone on to score a bigger score, India could have shut this game down.“If India had got 50–100 runs more, I think England would have been under severe pressure.“The way Rishabh was batting was unreal. This is what I want from Rishabh Pant. He was looking so solid. He was batting beautifully. The only way he could have got out was run out. He wanted KL Rahul to get his hundred,” he added.
Rahul said he had told Pant of his plan to get to the century before the break.“Not ideal. There was a conversation a couple of overs before that: I told him [Pant] that I would get my hundred, if possible, before lunch. And with Bashir bowling that last over before lunch, I thought there was a good chance for me to get it, but, yeah, unfortunately, I hit it straight to the fielder,” Rahul told reporters.“It was a ball that I could have hit for a boundary. Then he just wanted me to rotate strike and see if he could put me back on strike. But, yeah, it shouldn’t have happened: a run-out at that stage really changed the momentum.“It was disappointing for both of us. Obviously, nobody wants to throw their wicket like that.”
