India vs England, 4th Test: Pant, Sundar put India in command at the end of day 2

Belligerence sometimes is the best cure for dilemma. World cricket in the past has had a few cricketers who went about their game based on this philosophy and ended up garnering a lot of success. Rishabh Pant is well on his way to join that league. 

When India lost their fifth wicket in the form of Rohit Sharma on 121, they were 84 short of England’s first innings total and it seemed an encore of the previous Test’s first innings was on the horizon.

That Rohit Sharma, their best batsman so far in the innings, had laboured for 144 deliveries to fetch 49 runs was not an encouraging sign.

25 runs later, even R Ashwin was back in the hut. Most players in the world here would have started thinking of somehow getting closer to the England total. But Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar are a picture of ‘New India’ Virat Kohli keeps talking about. 

The duo combined to add 113 runs off just 158 deliveries to crush the hopes of England. In the process, Pant played some outrageous shots, which will never make it to a purist’s idea of Test cricket.

Reverse sweeping James Anderson was one of the highlights of the day. By the time the 23-year-old was done, he had taken the Indian ship to safer shores. The command is now in the hand of two tall spinners. Axar Patel is having a brilliant run with the ball and the way things have panned out so far in the series, it won’t be surprising if he ends up doing something magical with the bat too. On the other hand, is Washington Sundar, 40 shy of a score that will please his father the most.

India have a lead of 89 runs and it’s not just about being in an advantageous position, it’s also about putting to bed a lot of discussions about the pitch and conditions