Rishabh Pant hobbles to the middle, and soars into history

Rishabh Pant frequently makes people sit on the edge of their seats, in anticipation of the thrills his batting will bring. On Day 2 of India’s fourth Test against England, Pant made everyone stand up and applaud. In a remarkable show of courage, character and grit, Pant came out to bat with a fractured right foot, to a standing ovation from Old Trafford.

He hobbled to the centre, limped for his runs, and could be seen grimacing occasionally. But he batted on. He stayed for an hour, his innings only cut short by the perfect ball from Jofra Archer, coming in with the angle around the wicket at pace, pitching on the stumps, and moving away to shatter the stumps. Pant came out with India 314 for 6, and 35 runs were added while he was at the crease. India finished with 358 all out. Without Pant, with the bowlers fresher and the skies cloudy, it’s a good bet 314 for 6 would have become 320 all out.

But Pant stood firm. It was going to be his most uncharacteristic innings in international cricket. You can’t play falling-over sweeps on a broken foot. You can’t dance down the wicket. You can’t move around in the crease. On Thursday (July 24), Pant showed he could bat even if all of these were taken away from him. There was a mighty six off an Archer slower ball, and a rocket punch off Ben Stokes that reached the fence at bullet-speed and brought up the most gutsy fifty of his career.

“Yes, he was in a lot of pain,” Shardul said after the day’s play. “We have seen him doing a lot of amazing things, and this was just another amazing thing that he did for the team today.

“I think what he showed today, thejazba(passion) he showed for the team, is unmatched,” Shardul added. “In these kinds of moments, it’s a player’s grit that comes to the fore. I think Rishabh’s positivity and grit kept the pain away! He has a high capacity to bear pain... So if he is in pain, you can understand that it’s quite a big injury, that’s why he’s in pain.”

However, it was only a baby step. Batting was still far away.

A batter relies on quick and agile footwork, Pant even more than most. A broken foot would mean going forward or back - the two basic tenets of batting - suddenly became a whole lot more challenging. Batters also rely on a stable base, again Pant more than most given his outrageous shot-making. If you can only put weight very gingerly on one leg, that stable base goes up in smoke. You can’t transfer your weight efficiently, and the mere fact of the injury can take away from the mental focus needed to face top-class bowling.

But while Pant may not have been able to rock back or dance forward, he had that steely determination of ‘over my dead’ body in his eyes. He could be broken, but that didn’t mean he was defeated. So he played from the crease, he used his quick eye and dextrous hands to meet the ball. He also showed the depths of his will-power and ability to dig deep when taking singles that were on offer.

No matter what happens in this Test, or this series, the image of Pant limping to the crease and batting for an hour on a broken foot will remain the defining one.

Rishabh Pant may have hobbled to the middle, but he soared into history.