3rd Test: England got a massive lifeline with Pant's run-out, says Harmison

London, July 12 (IANS) Former fast bowler Steve Harmison believes England got a massive lifeline in the ongoing third Test at Lord’s due to the little bit of indecision in Rishabh Pant’s run-out happening at the stroke of lunch on day three’s play.

In the morning session, on the third ball of the 66th over, Pant defended to the off-side off Shoaib Bashir and England skipper Ben Stokes, stationed at cover point, picked the ball and threw it towards the non-striker's end – all in one motion. That direct hit did catch Pant short of his crease, leading to him being dismissed for 74.

“I look at this and go, wow, what a lifeline this is for England. It’s a huge lifeline. I thought England bowled really well in that first half an hour. KL Rahul played the way he does in a natural fashion. The ball coming to him, taking what’s on offer. Made some beautiful shots square of the wicket for boundaries.

“And Rishabh, I’ve stopped thinking about what is potentially going on inside that young man’s head. But it’s brilliant. It is so good to watch. And he has just made this game go a little bit fast-forward for India. So, I think England are just getting a massive, massive lifeline with that little bit of indecision with the runner,” said Harmison on JioHotstar.

Anil Kumble, former India leg-spinner, felt Pant’s unfortunate run-out was totally needless. “I think initially Rishabh Pant called and then hesitated, thinking that there was no run. And then KL was off the blocks straight away. So Rishabh Pant’s initial hesitation probably delayed his response.

“And then he had to take off because KL was just running straight through and on target. This was unnecessary, for sure, because you could have just blocked the next three balls, gone to lunch, and then do whatever you had to—or continued the great work that both these batters did in that first session.”

Kumble felt the 141-run stand between Pant and Rahul was crucial in keeping India in control of the morning session, before it all ended with a run-out. “I thought India sort of blunted England’s attack. Initially, Jofra Archer obviously bowled sharp. And I thought it was a bit too predictable—the short bowling, especially to KL Rahul.

“And India just rode that phase comfortably and then started attacking after that 45 or 50-minute mark. And then I thought the last one hour certainly belonged to India. Literally every over was a boundary.

"And both these batters were absolutely comfortable with what was going on—until this indecision from Rishabh Pant. And he just hesitated that fraction of a second, and that cost him his wicket," he concluded.

--IANS

nr/