Ultimate team man: Cricket fraternity hails Pant's gritty fifty with fractured foot

Manchester: Rishabh Pant’s audacious fifty with a fractured foot on day two of the fourth Test showed not just courage but also proved that he is the "ultimate team man", felt former India coach Ravi Shastri, as the cricket fraternity showered praise on the gutsy wicketkeeper-batter.

Pant’s return to top-flight cricket after a horrific car accident in December 2022 was already remarkable, but he took his daring streak to another level by completing a half-century with a broken foot on Thursday after retiring hurt on 37 the previous day.

“If anyone doubted he was ever a team man, they got to see it first-hand today. That requires more than just steel,” Shastri said in a video posted by the BCCI on its website.

“For him to come back and do what he did was something special. Sometimes the motivation goes to another level. What he did today for the team -- if that does not lift the team up, then nothing will. The applause he got from everyone in the England team out there is... I mean, that’s what you live for, that’s what you play for, that’s what makes you.”

Before the fourth Test, Pant’s availability as a keeper-batter was rendered doubtful after he sustained a finger injury while keeping during the Lord’s Test.

"He was asked, how’s the finger, will you play, then he said 'toota bhi toh khelta' (I would play even if it's broken) -- It shows now what he’s done. He loves playing Test cricket, he loves playing for his country,” Shastri recalled.

Barely able to move, Pant batted standing still, improvising shots off one leg and limping through singles.

In 70 minutes, he added 17 runs off 27 balls en route to his 54, a knock that mattered more than just the numbers.

“We need players like him who can step up in difficult moments. He showed so much courage and character despite having so much pain. It’s never easy to come out there and show that fight and willingness to do it for the country,” former India Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara said in the video.

“One thing is for sure that England love Rishabh Pant. Still being out there, getting those 16-18 runs, it’s always inspirational. In sport there are certain moments which you live a long time and that felt like a moment -- when you were there in the ground -- that will last long,” said former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, who is also commentating for the ongoing five-match Test series.

Pant launched Archer over midwicket for a six and then brought up his half-century by driving England captain Ben Stokes through the covers for four.

"He showed massive heart, which is what made me slightly cross about how India bowled (when loose deliveries allowed England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley to get off to a flier).

"He risked a lot. He has talent but a huge heart as well," said former England cricketer Nasser Hussain on 'Sky Sports'.

Pant has been one of India’s most consistent performers in this series with scores of 134 and 118 in the first Test at Headingley, followed by a knock of 65 at Edgbaston and then a fighting half-century at Lord’s.

"Pant has given so much in this series. Twin hundreds at Leeds, cartwheeling celebrations, throwing his bat looking to hit to the legside, and now a fifty on one leg effectively," said former England captain Michael Atherton on 'Sky Sports'.

"He was batting for the cause and that is one of the most remarkable things." Cricket has seen moments like this before -- West Indies great Malcolm Marshall once batted at Leeds in 1984 with his left hand in plaster for a broken thumb to help a teammate reach a hundred before dismantling England’s batting with his bowling hand.

Anil Kumble famously bowled with broken jaw and head wrapped in bandages and dismissed Brian Lara in Antigua in 2002.

On Thursday at Old Trafford, Pant walked into that legacy after having retired hurt overnight on 37.