In the 37th over’s last delivery during New Zealand’s opening innings, Rishabh Pant was dismissed after suffering a knock to his right knee after the ball struck an exposed area of his leg. But Pant’s knock in India’s response to the Kiwis’ 402 was a perfect example of the old adage that “the comeback is always greater than the setback.” He had complete control over every shot he scored, with the exception of the first two, which came from a lofted ball that almost missed mid-on and a streaky outside-edge. As he reached his half-century in 55 deliveries, his form persisted.
Rishabh Pant missed his sixth Test century by just four runs in the one-legged sweep that flew 107 meters.
Before being left blank by a back-of-a-length delivery from around-the-wicket back on his stumps by William O’Rourke, he was at 99 runs. Although the audience gave him a standing ovation as he left, Pant was more focused on the ton and batted for longer than he actually did, so it didn’t really matter.
This put him on a sad list of Indian hitters who have been dismissed on 99 in the red-ball style, along with MS Dhoni. Notably, 12 years ago, in the fourth and final Test of the series against England, Dhoni was hit by a sharp throw from opposition captain Alastair Cook, who was rushing in from mid-off, as he attempted to steal a quick single to reach his century. Surprisingly, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin—three members of the Nagpur team’s starting lineup—are all playing in the current Bengaluru match.
As India gets bowled out for 462, the lower middle-order and tail provide very little fight.
With the exception of the top five, only KL Rahul and Ashwin scored in double figures, with the other four batters accounting for just 11 of the 462. India set a target of 107, which New Zealand had to meet.
In dismal circumstances, the Kiwi openers did manage to make it to the middle. However, an unacceptable reading on the calibrated light meter led the on-field umpires to decide to end the day.
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An extended conversation between Rohit Sharma and the umpires was observed, but it proved unsuccessful. It began to pour heavily shortly after, and the rest of the day was canceled.
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