On a day when India appeared to claw back control in the third Test at Lord’s, a moment of miscommunication between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant just before lunch flipped the narrative. While India equalled England’s total of 387, the run out of Rishabh Pant at 74 proved to be a defining moment of the game.
Speaking at the end of Day 3, Rahul took full responsibility, revealing that his eagerness to bring up a century before the interval led to the unfortunate dismissal.
Rishabh Pant’s run-out
India resumed the day trailing by 242 runs, but a solid 141-run partnership between Rahul and Pant put them back in the contest. With Rahul nearing his century and just one over left before lunch, the pair discussed targeting Shoaib Bashir to reach the milestone. However, the eagerness to get KL back on strike so that he can notch up the hundred led to the downfall.
“There was a conversation a couple of overs before that,” Rahul explained. “I told Pant that I would get my hundred, if possible, before lunch. And 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 straight to the fielder.”
The delivery in question was short and wide, the one that Rahul admitted he could have dispatched for four. But when it didn’t reach the rope, Pant attempted to rotate strike and give Rahul one more chance. Instead, it ended with Ben Stokes producing a sharp run-out from cover point to dismiss Pant just before the interval.
“It was a ball that I could have hit for a boundary,” Rahul continued. “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.”
Rahul went on to complete his 10th Test century in the post-lunch session, becoming only the second Indian after Dilip Vengsarkar to score multiple tons at Lord’s. But the moment was short-lived as two balls later, he edged Bashir to slip and was dismissed for 100.
