India were lagging behind in the game at one stage when they had lost three wickets for 107 runs while chasing England’s first innings total of 387. However, KL Rahul and an injured Rishabh Pant turned the game back in India’s favour as they struck a partnership of over 100 runs to put their team in the driver’s seat and frustrate the England camp.
The Rahul-Pant partnership, however, came to an abrupt end right before the lunch break on Day 3 as Pant was run out following a brilliant piece of fielding by England skipper Ben Stokes.
In the last over before the break, Pant was trying to give the strike back to his partner, who was on 99. The left-hander had batted well for his 74, but after his dismissal, India looked in trouble as Rahul fell shortly after the interval, adding just one more run to his score.
While Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy stitched together a partnership to steady India’s innings, the visitors could only match England’s first-innings total and were unable to surpass it.
KL Rahul on Rishabh Pant’s crucial run-out:
Speaking after the day’s play, Rahul acknowledged the significance of Pant’s dismissal and revealed that the pair had discussed reaching the century before lunch.
“There was a conversation a couple of overs before that. I told him that I would try to get my hundred before lunch if possible. With Bashir bowling that last over before lunch, I thought there was a good chance for me to get it, but, yeah, unfortunately, I hit it straight to the fielder,” Rahul told the media.
“It was a ball I could have hit for a boundary. Then he just wanted to rotate strike and see if he could put me back on strike. But, yeah, it shouldn’t have happened: a run-out at that stage really changed the momentum. It was disappointing for both of us. Obviously, nobody wants to throw their wicket like that,” he added.