The legend of Rishabh Pant today expanded beyond imagination. Not because of his batting. Well, he has already reached that status despite spending just 7 years in Test cricket, but because of the heart he put on display on Day 2 of the 4th Test between India and England at Manchester's Old Trafford stadium. Pant cracked his right toe when a yorker from Chris Woakes hit him flush on his foot. As Pant was driven out in an ambulance, you knew his participation in the remainder of the Test match was going to be dicey.
Team India's worst nightmare came true around 12 PM on Thursday when sources confirmed to the BCCI that Pant has indeed picked up a fracture and is asked to rest for between 6 and 8 weeks, pretty much ruling him out of the series. The chances of Pant playing any part in the Manchester Test were as good as Mohammed Siraj hitting Jofra Archer for 6 sixes in an over. Exactly. Zero.
But when the BCCI sent out a post on X saying, Pant can bat depending on the team's requirements, the first thing that came to mind was 'You've got to be kidding me'. Well, turns out the board wasn't. Pant indeed walked out to bat at the fall of Shardul Thakur and India's sixth wicket to one of the loudest cheers ever by an English crowd ever reserved for an Indian batter. Limping out to bat, Pant practically batted on one leg, completing his fifty and ensuring India breached 350 to eventually finish on 358.
During his stay at the crease, Pant smashed a six off Jofra Archer and a four against Ben Stokes. England, sensing blood, went for the jugular, darting more yorkers at Pant's injured toe, which the batter saw off carefully. In the end, a peach from Archer uprooted Pant's off-stump, sending it cartwheeling. Pant's innings was over, but his stature as a never-give-up cricketer had grown by leaps and bounds.
Pant refuses teammates' help
As Pant made his way back to the Old Trafford dressing room, a couple of his teammates, Akash Deep and Kuldeep Yadav, had sprinted near the boundary to help him. However, as they tried to assist Pant in climbing the change room stairs, Pant said a defiant 'No'. "Main kar lunga," (I'll do it myself), he could be heard saying. Pant gingerly, but more importantly, climbed the stairs all by himself. It took him time, but the moment he approached the dressing room, there they were, head coach Gautam Gambhir and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, offering Pant a big, warm hug.
Pant had played 27 balls with a fractured foot. Cricket has seen several heroic knocks. Who can forget Graeme Smith walking out with a fractured arm, or Brett Lee bleeding after suffering a cut on his head against India during the 2011 World Cup quarterfinal? And hey, is there a better courageous effort ever seen in world cricket than Anil Kumble bowling with a broken jaw, sending down 14 consecutive overs and picking up the wicket of West Indies legend Brian Lara. Irrespective of the outcome of this match – Manchester Test at Old Trafford has, in all likelihood, cemented Pant as a bonafide legend.