Day 2 of the first Test between India and England at Headingley witnessed high drama and vintage Rishabh Pant — filled with flair, misjudgments, and milestones. The Indian vice-captain, who began the day unbeaten, continued his aggressive approach and brought the English bowlers under immense pressure, but not without giving them a golden opportunity early in the session.
The moment came when Pant, facing young off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, danced down the track to go big but completely misread the delivery. He swung so wildly that the bat slipped out of his hands, flying past short fine leg. More crucially, Pant had advanced so far down the pitch that he was a certain candidate for a stumping.
However, wicketkeeper Jamie Smith made a costly error — failing to gather the ball cleanly. The delivery rose to chest height, but in the haste to complete the stumping, Smith fumbled and missed the ball altogether, giving Pant a life he would capitalise on.
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Only moments earlier, Pant had launched Bashir for a towering six — his 79th in Test cricket, surpassing MS Dhoni’s record of 78. Pant achieved the feat in just 76 innings, compared to Dhoni’s 144, becoming the Indian wicketkeeper with the most sixes in Test history and the third overall behind only Virender Sehwag (90) and Rohit Sharma (88).
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But just as he seemed set for a double century, England struck back. Josh Tongue, bowling from around the wicket, deceived Pant with a sharp inswinger. Expecting it to angle away, Pant shouldered arms, only to be trapped plumb in front. Though he reviewed the LBW decision, the ball-tracking confirmed it was crashing into leg and middle. His phenomenal knock of 134 off 178 balls, laced with 12 fours and six sixes, came to an end. As he walked off, Headingley rose to applaud a special innings.
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Earlier, Karun Nair’s return to Test cricket ended in heartbreak — out for a four-ball duck after a sensational diving catch from Ollie Pope. Shardul Thakur, too, couldn’t get going. India, who began the day strongly, suddenly found themselves at 454/7 heading into the lunch break — still in control but with England clawing their way back.
