Rishabh Pant was relatively sedate in his unbeaten 30 on Day 3 of the fifth Test against England at Edgbaston, but former India pacer Zaheer Khan expects the wicketkeeper-batter to change his approach on Monday.
Pant was unbeaten on 30 at stumps on Sunday, sharing a fifty-run unbroken stand with Cheteshwar Pujara (50 not out) for the fourth wicket that helped India end the day on a relatively comfortable position of 125/3, ahead of the hosts by 257.
Unlike the first innings, in which the Indian wicketkeeper-batter took the English attack — particularly Jack Leach — to the cleaners in his 111-ball 146, he chose to leave most of the deliveries alone this time around. Particularly when Joe Root was testing him with a series of loopy deliveries outside off.
“I am sure Pant will bat a little more aggressively (on Day 4). On Sunday, he reined himself in since stumps were approaching and India wanted to end the day on a positive note. He did play some good flick shots when the ball was in his arc.
“India will not be thinking about how much time is left in the Test as of now. It will just be about batting normally, adding runs and playing positively, just as they have been doing in the Test,” Khan told Cricbuzz.
Pant’s ton in the first innings was his second on English soil, and came at a time when the visitors were in the dire straits after losing five wickets for just 98 runs. The Delhi Capitals skipper would go on to share a game-changing 222-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (104) for the sixth wicket to guide India past 300. Jadeja, as well as stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah would then ensure the visitors crossed the 400-run mark to put England under further pressure.
Khan, a veteran of 92 Tests with 311 wickets to his name in a 14-year international career, further discussed the evening session of Day 3, which he feels was a shared one even if the visitors ensured minimal damage by adopting a conservative approach with the bat.
“According to me, the last session of play on Day 3 was a shared one. I really liked Ben Stokes’ spell. Anderson also bowled really well, as did Broad and Potts. Runs were scored and too many wickets did not fall. But it was a really exciting session of Test cricket. There was some good batting and bowling as well,” Khan said.
India will hope for an encore from Pant, with Pujara also hoping to keep himself in contention for future tours by making the most of what has been a promising start so far. Having already stretched their lead past the 250-mark, the visitors — currently leading the five-Test series 2-1 — will hope to put the target beyond England’s reach with another solid display with the bat on the penultimate day.
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