ENG vs IND: Misbalanced Rishabh Pant hits audacious boundary before falling on ground

Rishabh Pant unleashed one of his best innings on July 1, Friday, against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham, scoring a counter-attacking century and putting India in a commanding position on Day 1 of the rescheduled fifth Test match. The southpaw played shots all around the ground and spared none of the England bolwers, scoring 146 runs off just 111 balls.

Pant smashed 19 fours and four sixes which includes some audacious shots, including a reverse sweep over the slip cordon against ace pacer James Anderson. And one such valorous shot came when he was in the 90s, facing left-arm spinner Jack Leach in the 57th over. He hit a four straight down the ground despite losing the balance. As a result, Pant fell on the floor as he was completing the shot. He swung his bat so hard that he almost hit his feet.

Rishabh Pant will ensure you don’t stop watching Test cricket: Harsha Bhogle

Pant has been dismissed five times in the 90s in his short Test career, yet there was no sign of nervousness in the 24-year-old, as he raced towards a century off just 89 balls. This was the fastest century by an Indian wicketkeeper in Tests and undoubtedly will remain as one of the best innings in Pant’s career.

Commentator Harsha Bhogle said on air, “He will ensure you don’t stop watching Test cricket.” Meanwhile, Pant, along with Ravindra Jadeja, rescued the Indian innings after the visitors were found wanting at 98/5 in the 28th over. England pacers Anderson and Matthew Potts gave the Indian top order no respite, picking up the first five wickets between them, with none of the Indian batters scoring more than 20 runs.

Then came the partnership of Pant and Jadeja, which added 222 runs for the sixth wicket, taking India past the 300-run mark. Although Pant’s innings overshadowed everything else on Day 1, Jadeja also played a splendid unbeaten knock of 83 off 163 balls, steadying the ship on the other end. India finished with a Day 1 total of 338 for the loss of seven wickets in 73 overs.