Rishabh Pant struck a courageous fifty on a broken foot while England captain Ben Stokes took his first five-wicket haul in eight years to restrict India to 358 in the afternoon session on day two of the fourth Test here on Thursday.
In response, England raced to 77 for no loss in 14 overs at the tea break with Ben Duckett (43 batting off 41) collecting six boundaries on the off-side against a wayward Indian pace attack.
Zak Crawley (33 batting off 44) too came up with some crisp hits in the unbeaten stand with Duckett.
Debutant Anshul Kamboj could not strike in his two short spells while the seasoned Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were also not at their best.
The highlight of the session was Pant (54 off 75) making a plucky half-century despite struggling to walk in the middle.
Pant sensationally smashed a slower ball from Jofra Archer for a six between midwicket and square-leg before driving Stokes from the crease for a boundary through cover for a memorable half-century, drawing a standing ovation from a packed stadium.
When Archer finally found Pant’s stumps with a peach, the significance of Pant’s courageous knock was not lost even on the opposition with Joe Root patting the Indian for his valiant effort.
Stokes had Kamboj caught behind to complete his five-wicket haul, while the innings ended with the dismissal of Jasprit Bumrah.
In the morning session, Pant remarkably came out to bat with a fractured foot while Shardul Thakur showed plenty of resolve to take India to 321 for six at lunch. Resuming the day at 264 for four, India did well to cross the 300-run mark in overcast conditions that offered plenty of seam and swing to the England pacers especially Archer, who was effectively unplayable for majority of his opening spell. Stokes got the odd ball to jump from length, creating further challenges for the Indian batters.
Considering the behaviour of the pitch, India would be content with a first innings score of 358.
Chris Woakes took the new ball immediately but it was in following over from Archer that England got the early breakthrough.
The in-form Ravindra Jadeja (20 off 40) could not do much off an Archer delivery that shaped away after landing on the leg-stump to take the outside edge, with Harry Brook holding on to a low catch at second slip.
With the ball doing all sorts of tricks, Shardul Thakur (41 off 88) looked to attack and dispatched Woakes off the backfoot in the cover region for a fine boundary.
Minutes later, Shardul creamed a full ball from Stokes through the cover a ball after getting a snorter from the England captain that almost kissed his glove.
Stokes managed to get rid of Indian bowling all-rounder eventually by luring him into the drive and getting him caught at gully by Duckett, who pouched the flying ball.
Much to the shock of everyone at the ground, Pant limped out to bat following Shardul’s fall and a standing ovation followed.
Despite the broken right foot, Pant made a courageous call to face the England pacers. He could barely complete his singles but the fact that he was in the centre said a lot about his grit and character.
An early lunch was taken when light rain returned to Old Trafford in fading light.
India’s injury woes pile up as Pant fractures toe but comes out to bat
Rishabh Pant was on Thursday ruled out of wicket-keeping duties in the ongoing fourth Test against England after fracturing his toe but he came out to bat after the BCCI stated that he is “available” in that role as per team requirements during the crunch game.
The 27-year-old Pant retired hurt at 37 on the opening day and went for scans after copping a blow on his right foot while attempting a reverse sweep off England pacer Chris Woakes on Wednesday.
“Rishabh Pant, who sustained an injury to his right foot on Day 1 of the Manchester Test, will not be performing wicket-keeping duties for the remainder of the match. Dhruv Jurel will assume the role of wicket-keeper,” the BCCI posted on X.
“Despite his injury, Rishabh Pant has joined the team on Day 2 and will be available to bat as per team requirements,” it added.
This was after early inputs from the Board indicated that Pant has been ruled out of the series and Ishan Kishan would be called in as cover for him.
Pant came out to bat after the fall of Shardul Thakur’s wicket with India at 314/6 on the overcast day. With his ability to change the momentum with audacious stroke-play, Pant is a game-changer for India.
After undergoing additional scans, Pant arrived at the stadium wearing a moon boot (a protective orthopaedic boot) to support his injured foot.
“His metatarsal bones (a group of five long bones located between the ankle and toe) seem to be shattered. It doesn’t look good at all,” a BCCI source told PTI.
The severity of the injury was apparent given the blood that was seen seeping off Pant’s right foot on Wednesday. The affected area had considerable swelling as well.
On day one, Pant was the only one to take the attack to Jofra Archer and Co. while the other batters struck at three runs per over.
Before getting hit on his right foot, Pant had perfected an outrageous sweep off Archer before smashing Brydon Carse down the ground as if he was a spinner.
India have already lost all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy to a knee problem, while pacers Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh are missing the ongoing game because of a groin niggle and a finger injury respectively.
Pant’s injury adds to the problems for the team which is trailing 1-2 right now.
Kishan, who recently played two County matches for Nottinghamshire, was also a part of the India A squad that faced the England Lions ahead of the Test series, though the 26-year-old did not appear in any of the two matches.
The think tank can also ask KL Rahul to keep wickets, but he has not performed that role since the tour of South Africa in the 2023-24 season.
“He hardly put his foot on the ground (after the impact). The immediate swelling was a worry for me. I have had a metatarsal injury myself and they are small fragile bones.
“The fact that he could not put any weight on it, it doesn’t look good at all,” Ricky Ponting, who is commentating on the game, had said on ‘Sky Sports’ after the incident.
The fifth and final Test of the series is scheduled to be held at London’s Kennington Oval from July 31.
This was the second injury for Pant in this series as he had bruised his finger while keeping during the third Test at the Lord’s, which prevented him from guarding the stumps in England’s second innings.
The flamboyant player made his comeback to international cricket only last year after surviving a life-threatening car crash in 2022.