Nasser Hussain hails Rishabh Pant’s heart after batter walks out to bat with broken foot on Day 2 of 4th Test against England

Former England captain Nasser Hussain showered praise on Rishabh Pant for showing all the heart after he decided to bat despite a fractured toe on the second day of the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford. Pant was hit on his right leg by Chris Woakes on the opening day’s play when he was attempting to play a reverse sweep.

After scans, it was confirmed that Pant had fractured his toe. BCCI provided an update on Thursday, stating that Pant will not perform wicket-keeping duties but he will bat if needed.

After Ravindra Jadeja was dismissed early by Jofra Archer, Pant limped to the batting crease and received a standing ovation from the Old Trafford crowd.

Pant added 17 valuable runs to his overnight score of 37 and was dismissed after 54 runs by Jofra Archer.

Hussain said he was not happy with India’s bowling effort with the new ball as Pant had scored those runs in a gutsy way.

Nasser Hussain said on Sky Sports, “That is a massive heart (to come out and bat). That’s what made me slightly cross about how India went out and bowled. All those runs he put on, not just his runs, but by being there with Washington Sundar, getting a partnership. He has really risked a lot there.”

“He is probably batting with a broken foot. That is a huge heart. He has a lot of talent but he has a huge heart as well. To get all those runs, get up to 350+ and then to start the way they did (with the ball), the Indian bowlers didn’t get it right,” he added.

Meanwhile, England raced 77-0 in 14 overs before tea and former Indian wicket-keeper bat Dinesh Karthik is hopeful that one hour doesn’t come back to bite them.

“I just hope that one hour before tea doesn’t come back to bite them at the end of the series. They have been the dominant team in this series but that one session is where Test matches are decided on and Test series gets decided on. If that does happen here, they’ll be very disappointed,” said Karthik.

England ended the second day’s play at 225-2 after India posted 358 runs in the first innings.