Home
India's star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant suffered a toe fracture while attempting to reverse sweep Chris Woakes in the first innings. In his place, Dhruv Jurel is keeping the stumps. But, the vice-captain walked out to bat limping on Day 2 when India lost six wickets. As England posted a mammoth total of 669, Pant's services with the bat will be needed again. After the Day 4's play, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak was asked whether an injured Pant will walk out to bat.
“Yes, Rishabh will bat tomorrow,” Kotak confirmed in the post-day press conference on July 26.
Pant scored 54 runs from 75 balls in the first innings, featuring three fours and two sixes. His footwork is limited due to the injury.
After England took 311-run lead, India got off to a poor start as Chris Woakes dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan for ducks in the first over. But, KL Rahul and captain Shubman Gill helped India recover from the early blows and steady the ship. India were 174/2 after Day 4's play with Rahul and Gill unbeaten on 87 and 167 respectively. India still trail by 137 runs.
Kotak backed Rahul and Gill who negotiated well against the English bowlers.
“When you lose early wickets, it’s easy to panic. But even at lunch, they were calm. They backed themselves to play out the tough phase. KL’s defensive technique against the new ball was outstanding. And Gill, after a few streaky moments, started trusting his game and played to his strengths,” Kotak said.
At the moment, salvaging a draw will be a win for India at The Old Trafford, Manchester. But, they need to bat out at least two sessions on Day 5. Kotak was asked whether the team has any Test speciallist. While he doesn't feel that there are any speciallists, he backed the batters to adapt.
“There’s no so-called Test specialist in this batting pack. Today, everyone wants to play white-ball cricket. But mental adaptability is key. Whatever format or situation you are in, you have to mould your approach accordingly,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
