Rishabh Pant is a cricketer who, on any given day, gets tongues wagging. In this series he has scored twin hundreds; has cartwheeled in celebration; has thrown his bat skywards when attempting a slog over the leg side; was run out at a critical juncture of the Lord’s Test and here in Manchester his role was of the walk-on, carried-off variety only, but still of central importance given what happened.
Having made 37, Pant was in the process of gaining control for India during the final session in partnership with the willowy left-hander Sai Sudharsan. The usual whacky combination of dutiful defence and outrageous stroke play — with not much in between — had been fully in evidence when, attempting a reverse-sweep to Chris Woakes in the 68th over, he took a full toss on the outstep of his right foot and was forced to retire hurt.
He spent the next five minutes after being hit hopping around and taking treatment — an egg-sized lump appeared on his foot — before being driven off grimacing in a golf buggy and it remains to be seen whether he plays any further part in the match or the series. While Dhruv Jurel can replace him as a wicketkeeper in this game — as he did at Lord’s — Pant’s potential absence from here on in would place India at a significant disadvantage.
His departure and Sudharsan’s dismissal five overs later, along with three key wickets in the afternoon session, allowed Ben Stokes to claim enough justification for inserting India again — the third time in the series he has done so.
Pant had to retire hurt after being hit on the foot by a ball from Woakes …
CONOR MOLLOY/PROSPORTS/SHUTTERSTOCK
… a lump was visible and it remains to be seen whether he plays any further part in the match or series
CONOR MOLLOY/PROSPORTS/SHUTTERSTOCK
Having failed to take a wicket before lunch, alarm was raised initially, especially given Old Trafford’s record of punishing captains who have the temerity to bowl first, but India finished 264 for four, with Pant’s fate and the second new ball of immediate interest when play resumes.
Stokes himself did as much as anyone to push his team’s cause, bowling 14 overs and looking in excellent rhythm again, as he has done all summer. He took the key wicket of Shubman Gill, leg-before after misjudging a straight ball, and that of Sudharsan, who, having been dropped after the first match in Leeds, played with understandable introspection in making his maiden Test fifty, before hooking a bouncer into the deep.
While Pant had arrived to the crease to cheers from the crowd, Gill was roundly booed after his comments the day before the game, when he raised the issue of time-wasting again. This was a rare case of the crowd rousing themselves on a day that felt a little restrained after the fireworks at Lord’s. Mind you, it didn’t help matters that thousands struggled to gain entry to the ground in time for the start of play, a failure for which Lancashire rightly apologised.
The empty seats, the greyness of the day and the failure to make early inroads led to what felt like a subdued opening. England’s eagerness to up their over rate was made plain, with Harry Brook leading sprints in between overs. India’s three changes did not include Kuldeep Yadav, the wrist spinner, which they may come to regret, while Liam Dawson’s long-awaited return produced the key wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal, when well set.
Jaiswal and KL Rahul, a strong opening combination, played excellently in posting 94 for the first wicket and there have not been many foreign players in recent years who have played the moving ball with as much technical competence and ease as Rahul. Having made two hundreds already in the series, he embarked upon another odyssey, calmly negotiating the morning session and the small amount of seam movement that the new ball offered.
Woakes was the best bowler by some distance in the morning and he passed the outside edge nine times in his opening spell, each time with the batsman drawn forward from a good length. He found the edge of the bat twice, too, but the lack of pace in the pitch meant that edges from Jaiswal fell short of the slip cordon. Since the square has been turned around, the pace has gradually seeped from the Old Trafford pitch.
Jofra Archer slipped himself occasionally but was a little down on his Lord’s pace, while Brydon Carse searched without success for rhythm in his opening spell. Stokes tried the odd short ball, one of which was belted for six over third man by Jaiswal and the young left-hander looked as though he had the bit between his teeth, knuckling down after an unproductive match at Lord’s. The first session belonged resoundingly to India.
With the stands noticeably fuller after lunch, the atmosphere lifted a touch and England responded to that. Woakes finally got the success his morning efforts had deserved when Rahul, on the back foot, followed one and edged to third slip; Jaiswal, having spent part of the lunch break hitting balls on the outfield — the young man likes batting — passed fifty but then the 23-year-old edged Dawson to slip and Gill departed to cheers as loud as the boos that had greeted him.
Dawson removed the dangerous Jaiswal for his first Test wicket in 2,929 days
GARETH COPLEY/GETTY IMAGES
While Dawson had waited eight years between Tests, his impact was immediate after an introduction halfway through the day. Despite his vast experience, he admitted to some nerves, but they were not apparent as he settled quickly. He took the edge of Jaiswal’s bat in his first over — the ball running along the ground past slip — before another edge went to hand in his second, as Jaiswal played for non-existent turn.
Dawson fulfilled what was expected of him in the 15 overs he bowled, going at three runs an over, and chipping out a key wicket — a perfectly good return for a spinner on a first-day pitch. While Dawson was wheeling through his opening spell, Stokes brought himself on at the other end as soon as Gill appeared. That much was easy to explain in a captain versus captain way; less so was Gill’s decision to leave a straight ball angling into off stump.
England’s session could have been sweeter still, had Jamie Smith not spilt a straightforward chance down the leg side when Sudharsan had made 20. Having dismissed Sudharsan twice to a leg-side trap in Leeds, it looked like a deliberate ploy when Stokes pushed one wide down the leg side, only for Smith to fumble. Sudharsan unfurled the occasional stylish shot, the pick of them a pull for four off Stokes, with leading leg raised, as Gordon Greenidge, the great West Indian opener, used to do.
Pant set about matters in his own distinctive way. He swept Archer for four, on one knee, and attempted a reverse-sweep, an indignity the fast bowler is not likely to forget. His injury and Sudharsan’s ill-fated hook brought England back into the contest again, and they were sensing an opportunity to make further inroads only for bad light to prevent them from a late thrust with the second new ball.