Watch: Cheerful Kohli playfully hangs bracelet on Rishabh Pant’s ears as India’s bowlers fire missiles
India entered day five of this second Test match against England at Lord’s on the backfoot. They had lost six wickets and had a lead of just 154 runs. Rishabh Pant got out as early as the fourth over of the day while Ishant Sharma didn’t last long either. At 209/8 (lead of 182 runs), it seemed like India could be bowled out inside the first hour.
However, Mohammed Shami smashed a stunning half-century (56) while Jasprit Bumrah made a stoic 34 and the duo shared a staggering unbeaten 89-run stand to take India to 298/8 before they declared.
With 272 runs to play with and 60 overs in hand, the Indian pace attack was fired up. Both the men of the moment, Shami and Bumrah struck early for India and put England under pressure. Bumrah dismissed Rory Burns in the very first over of the innings before Shami had Dom Sibley nicking one to Pant in the second over.
However, after that initial burst, the Indian bowlers, apart from Ishant Sharma who was spot on with his line and length, they were a bit wayward and gave Pant a hard time behind the stumps. Mohammed Siraj and Shami sprayed the ball down leg-side trying to attack the stumps and the ball swung after going past the stumps as well. Thus, it was almost impossible for Pant to cover the ground towards his left and there were byes conceded.
Moreover, the pace of the Indian pace attack was up as well and they were sending down some thunderbolts. Pant has kept well throughout this series but some of the takes weren’t really within reach. The number of byes that show against his name could look a touch unfair given the difficulty of the takes and the ground he’s had to cover.
In the 20th over of the innings, Virat Kohli tried lightning up the mood. The Indian skipper was fidgeting with a bracelet and he put that on Pant’s ear. Both Kohli and Pant were seen sharing a smile after that incident.
A fan on Twitter uploaded the video of this light moment between Kohli and Pant. Here is the video for the same:
Virat kohli having fun with Rishab Pant
#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/3vdZ9RDxke
— Jon | Michael | Tyrion
(@tyrion_jon) August 16, 2021