KL Rahul on the Rishabh Pant run-out as he blames his urge to get to century for the latter’s dismissal at lunch.
‘Disappointing for both of us’ – KL Rahul says rush for century led to Pant run-out.
When Shoaib Bashir stepped up to bowl the final over before lunch on Saturday, India was 247 for 3. Rishabh Pant ran himself out in a self-destructive manner after three balls. KL Rahul, who became the second Indian to have his name appear on the Lord’s honours board more than once, edged one to give Bashir his lone wicket of the day in the second over after the interval. After dominating the first session and scoring 103 runs in 22.3 overs until Pant’s run out, India was suddenly 254 for 5.
At the end of the day, Rahul held up his hand to acknowledge that his haste to hit the milestone before lunch “changed the momentum” of the Indian innings.
Rahul claimed that he had discussed with Pant his intention to reach the century a few overs before lunch, before the break. Just before noon, Pant complained that his senior partner had wasted the chance to punish what he believed to be a bad ball for a four when he pushed a single to sweeper cover off the first ball of Bashir’s over. Pant attempted a dangerous single two balls later, but England captain Ben Stokes’ outstanding pick-up-and-direct-hit got him out. Pant may have felt a century himself, but his inning was cruelly ended at 74, and he walked back disappointedly.
“Not ideal,” Rahul said at the media briefing. “There was a conversation a couple of overs before that: I told him [Pant] that I would get my hundred, if possible, before lunch. And with Bashir bowling that last over before lunch, I thought there was a good chance for me to get it, but, yeah, unfortunately, I hit straight to the fielder.
“It was a ball that I could have hit for a boundary. Then he just wanted me to rotate strike and see if he could put me back on strike. But, yeah, it shouldn’t have happened: a run out at that stage really changed the momentum.
“It was disappointing for both of us. Obviously, nobody wants to throw their wicket like that.”