Injured Rishabh Pant hits valiant 54 in Manchester Test: Stats
What's the story
Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant showed tremendous character and guts to walk out and bat despite fracturing his toe. Pant suffered an injury on Day 1 of the 4th Test versus England at Old Trafford, Manchester. He was forced to retire hurt. Pant was hit on his right foot while attempting a reverse sweep off England pacer Chris Woakes. Despite the setback, Pant came out to bat on Day 2 after Shardul Thakur's dismissal. Here's more.
Injury details
Pant fractures his toe; Jurel to keep
Pant was batting at 37 from 48 balls when he was hit and had to retire hurt. Scans later confirmed a fracture in his right toe, ruling him out of wicket-keeping duties for the remainder of the match. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that Dhruv Jurel will take over as wicket-keeper for the rest of the match. The BCCI, in a statement, clarified: "Rishabh Pant, who sustained an injury to his right foot on Day 1 of the Manchester Test, will not be performing wicket-keeping duties for the remainder of the match."
Recovery timeline
Injury doesn't look good; two-month recovery expected
Pant arrived at the stadium wearing a moon boot to support his injured foot. A BCCI source told PTI that his metatarsal bones "seem to be shattered" and that it doesn't look good at all. The injury could take up to two months to heal, ruling Pant out of India's upcoming international fixtures such as the proposed white-ball series in Sri Lanka and Asia Cup. His next possible assignment could be the home Test series against West Indies in October or a white-ball tour of Australia later this year.
Information
Pant gets to valiant fifty before Archer gets him
Pant added 23 runs alongside Washington Sundar before the latter was dismissed. Anshul Kamboj came in and departed quickly. Pant got to his fifty thereafter. He hit a six and then smashed another four. However, Jofra Archer dismissed Pant thereafter (54).
Runs
Pant slams his 18th fifty in Tests
Pant hit three fours and two sixes in his knock of 54 from 75 balls. In 47 Test matches, Pant has raced to 3,427 runs at 44.50. He registered his 18th fifty (100s: 8). As per ESPNcricinfo, in 16 Tests versus England, he owns 1,260 runs at 46.66. This was his 7th fifty versus England (100s: 5). During his knock of 54, Pant also surpassed 1,000 runs in England. He owns 1,035 runs at 43.12 (100s: 4, 50s: 5).
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9th fifty in away matches
Pant hammered his 9th fifty in away Tests (home of opposition) from 33 matches (59 innings) at 41.44. He owns 2,321 runs with the help of 6 tons.
Information
5th fifty-plus score for Pant in ongoing Test series
Pant started the series with 134 and 118 at Headingley. At Edgbaston, he smashed 25 and 65. In the 3rd Test at Lord's, Pant ended up scoring 74 and 9. In Manchester, he has now hit a gritty 54.
Record
Pant becomes Indian with joint-most Test sixes
Pant added another feather to his cap. He now has the joint-most sixes for India in Test cricket. Pant reached the landmark on Day 2. With his 2nd maximum of the match, Pant equaled the long-standing record of Virender Sehwag. Pant equaled Sehwag with his 90th six in Test cricket. Notably, Rohit Sharma is the only other Indian with over 80 sixes in the format.