India enjoyed their most dominant session of the Lord’s Test so far, with Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul commanding the morning of Day 3. The duo looked unbothered by the English bowling attack, piling on runs at a brisk pace and bringing up their third century stand in Test cricket — a partnership that kept India firmly in the contest after the early loss of Shubman Gill.
KL Rahul, showing trademark composure, inched closer to yet another Lord’s century, while Pant, despite carrying an injured finger, played with typical flair. From dancing down the track to pacers, to unleashing trademark scoops and slogs, Pant never strayed from his natural attacking instincts. Even when England captain Ben Stokes tried every trick — setting funky fields and rotating his bowlers, including himself — he couldn’t break the rhythm of the Indian pair.
WATCH – Rishabh Pant’s Gritty Knock Ends in Costly Run-Out Just Before Lunch at Lord’s
One of the standout moments came when Rishabh Pant attempted to pull a short ball from Stokes. The shot was destined for a six over fine leg, but Zak Crawley pulled off a remarkable save on the boundary, denying Pant his third six of the innings.
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Pant eventually fell for 74, courtesy of a brilliant piece of fielding from Stokes, who caught him short of his crease with a direct hit just before lunch. It was a frustrating end to an entertaining and brave innings, especially considering Pant’s finger injury that had prevented him from keeping wickets.
With this knock, Pant became the first visiting wicketkeeper to score over 400 runs in a Test series in England. He also surpassed MS Dhoni and Farokh Engineer to become India’s highest-scoring wicketkeeper in a single Test series.
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Pant now has 87 Test sixes to his name — just two shy of Rohit Sharma’s tally and four short of Virender Sehwag. He’s third on the list of Indian batters with the most sixes in Test cricket. Once again, Ben Stokes emerged as the disruptor for India. Just like he dismissed Karun Nair earlier during a building stand, he ended the 141-run partnership between Pant and Rahul. India went into lunch at 248/4, still trailing by 139 but in a far stronger position than when the day began.
