The bat went one way. The ball went the other.
One of the wildest innings in test cricket from India star Rishabh Pant came to a suitably extraordinary end against England at Edgbaston on Saturday.
Attempting to pull offspinner Shoaib Bashir for six, Pant miscued his shot while also letting go of his bat, which — close to England fielder Brydon Carse. Meanwhile, the ball looped high in the air and into the deep on the offside where it was caught by Ben Duckett.
Carse collected the bat and returned it to Pant, who walked off to an ovation after an incident-packed knock of 63 off 58 balls just after lunch on Day 4 of the second test in Birmingham.
“An extraordinary innings,” said former England captain Mike Atherton, who was calling the match for British broadcaster Sky Sports. “And it was an extraordinary end.”
Pant, one of the most flamboyant batters in world cricket, brought the kind of chaos rarely seen in the often-sedate test format in an innings containing eight fours and three sixes.
Off just his fourth ball faced, Pant advanced down the track and smashed England pacer Josh Tongue for a straight six. There was a flick for another maximum off his hips and a shovel shot over the field for four that ended with Pant rolling on the ground in the crease.
He was also dropped twice — by Zak Crawley and Chris Woakes — either side of just before lunch when, on 41, he went for a pull shot, missed the ball and released his bat.
It flew about 20 meters into the leg side — again missing any England fielders — and sparked laughter on and off the field.
He did it again hours later, but this time he wasn’t so lucky after connecting with the ball.
By the time he was dismissed, Pant had reached a half-century in a test for the 10th time against England.
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AP cricket:
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