[Watch] ENG vs IND 2025: Ben Stokes’ brilliance leads to Rishabh Pant’s downfall in last over before Lunch

Rishabh Pant. (Photo source: X)

Ben Stokes’ alertness and athleticism helped England go into the Lunch break on Day 3 of the Lord’s Test with some momentum after toiling hard for most of the first session.

India started Day 3 at 145/3, trailing England’s first-innings score by 242 runs. KL Rahul was batting on 53, while Pant finished unbeaten on 19. The latter hit two boundaries off Jofra Archer in the first over on Day 3, making his intentions clear. Rahul, on the other hand, batted with calmness and composure.

Pant did have his struggles with his left hand as he injured his left index finger while keeping wickets on Day 1. However, the pain didn’t stop him from playing his natural game. England came out with better plans as compared to the final session on Day 2 and bowled four maidens in a row. However, this didn’t bother the Pant-Rahul duo.

Pant was hit on his injured hand in the 59th over of the day, and the physio had to rush in to attend to him. However, the Indian vice-captain recovered well and hit a six off the last delivery of that over, bowled by Stokes to get to his half-century. With this hit, Pant became the batter with the most sixes against England, surpassing Viv Richards’ tally of 34 maximums against the Three Lions.

Pant continued dispatching the bad balls to the boundary after getting to his milestone. Shoaib Bashir bowled the final over before Lunch, and Indian fans were hoping that their team would go into the break unscathed. However, Pant blocked a ball to the cover region and set off for a quick single. Stokes rushed to the ball in no time and picked it up with one hand and threw it directly at the stumps, finding Pant short of his crease.

Check out the dismissal below:

The England captain was ecstatic as they had dismissed the dangerous Pant after he had scored 74 runs off 112 balls. The 141-run partnership was broken, and this turned out to be the last ball before Lunch. India scored 103 runs off 22.3 overs in the session, but the wicket they lost of Pant would be a bitter pill to swallow for them.

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