Credit: BCCI
Rishabh Pant has been getting lauded for his heroics at the fourth Test match played between England and India. In the match played at Manchester, Pant retired hurt while batting on 37 on a delivery by Chris Woakes. But on day two, a pressure situation was anticipated when Ravindra Jadeja became the first scalp of the day by Jofra Archer. Rishabh Pant walked down the stairs of Old Trafford limping and went on to score 54 despite having a fractured toe. Even the head coach of the team, Gautam Gambhir didn’t hold himself in praising the valiant effort shown by Rishabh Pant.
Another such praise of Rishabh Pant was done by his fellow teammate Suryakumar Yadav. On his Instagram story he wrote, “@rishabpant, mujhe pata tha tum pagal ho lekin poore pagal ho wo pata lag gaya (I know your madness for cricket but I got to know the extent of your madness).” In another story posted on his Instagram, Suryakumar praised Dhruv Jurel, who replaced Rishabh Pant as a wicketkeeping substitute. “Not easy, But you showed everyone how a TEAMMAN should react when not playing #neveroffDUTY,” Suryakumar wrote.
One of the key stumpings by Dhruv Jurel’s included that of Joe Root
Stepping in for injured Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel’s glovework on day three included the pivotal catches of Ben Duckett who was playing on 94 and Jamie Smith off Jasprit Bumrah’s bowl. Another moment when Jurel proved his mettle came in the form of stumping of Joe Root, who dominated the Indian bowlers and was batting on 150, on a sharply spun delivery by Ravindra Jadeja. Root, drawn forward by the flight and turn, was beaten by the bounce, and Jurel’s lightning-quick hands removed the bails in a flash, ending a record-breaking knock that saw Root surpass cricketing legends to become the second-highest run-scorer in Test history.
His agility and sharp reflexes also bore fruit when Harry Brook was dismissed on just a score of three runs by a delivery of Washington Sundar in the 81st over. The fourth match between England and India ended up in a draw, with the hosts still having a lead by 2-1 in the series. The final match of the series is set to begin on July 31 at The Oval in London. Stokes and his team will look to win the match and clinch the series by 3-1, but the resilience shown by the Indians in the fourth test might dent their hopes of registering that win and the series can also end with a tally 2-2.
