09:20 (IST)
England's spin-bowling coach Jeetan Patel on Friday doffed his hat to young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant for taking the game away with his aggressive batting display on the second day of the fourth Test.
Click here to read what Patel said about Pant’s blistering knock
09:10 (IST)
Rishabh Pant hit 13 fours and two sixes in his enterprising innings of 101 off 118 balls to send Twitter into a frenzy. His ton invited reactions from Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, and many more from the cricket fraternity.
09:00 (IST)
Rohit Sharma: Team management fine with Rishabh Pant's approach
Rishabh Pant's attacking style of batting has the Indian team management's mandate as long as he gets the "job done" more often than not, feels senior batsman Rohit Sharma.
"Pant has his own style of batting. Obviously there have been messages, as to how he needs to approach his innings. He seems to be batting in his own style which is great from our perspective as well, because he seems to be getting the job done, which is more important," Rohit said.
08:50 (IST)
We have more Pant stories coming your way! It was such a special innings. He started off slowly as India were in trouble. Made his first fifty runs off 82 deliveries and then came into his elements with some incredible hitting to finish on 101 off 118. Pant showed with his innings that he can play according to a situation and the notion that he can only play in one way is a myth.
Yash Jha in his analysis writes about how 'audacious' Rishabh Pant galloped further towards realising his generational promise with the knock in the fourth test.
08:40 (IST)
See the ball and react, that's my USP, says Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant after Day 2's play said he has got the license to go for his shots on most occasions but considering the game situation on Friday, he had to bide time before going for the most outlandish of strokes during his sensational innings.
"I get the license most of the time, but I have to assess the situation and take the game head on. I like to make the team win and if the crowd is entertained by that, I'm happy," Pant said.
"If the bowlers are bowling well respect it and take the singles, and that was on my mind. I like to play the situation and I just see the ball and react - that's the USP (unique selling point) of my game."
08:30 (IST)
Welcome to Day three of the fourth Test match between hosts India and England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. On Friday, Rishabh Pant stole the limelight with a finely-structured innings of 101 from 118 balls to give the hosts a slight edge in the contest. Washington Sundar (60*) and Axar Patel (11*) will resume their fight with the score reading 294-7 (Lead of 89 runs). Stay tuned as we build-up towards an exciting day's play.
India vs England Live Score, Live Cricket Score, 4th Test at Motera Live Updates: Welcome to Day three of the fourth Test match between hosts India and England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. On Friday, Rishabh Pant stole the limelight with a finely-structured innings of 101 from 118 balls to give the hosts a slight edge in the contest. Washington Sundar (60*) and Axar Patel (11*) will resume their fight with the score reading 294-7 (Lead of 89 runs). Stay tuned as we build-up towards an exciting day's play.
Day 2 report: Rishabh Pant hit a defiant 101 to put India in control of the fourth and final Test against England on Friday.
India reached 294 for seven at the end of the second day in response to England's 205. Washington Sundar was at the crease on 60 with Axar Patel on 11.
India, leading 2-1 in the series, struggled to make runs and lost crucial wickets early in the day, including skipper Virat Kohli, who failed to score.
But Pant put on 113 for the seventh wicket with Sundar to hit back after the England bowlers reduced India to 146 for six at one stage.
"I like to play the situation and I just see the ball and react— that's the unique selling point of my game," said Pant.
"The team plan was to get to 206, pass the England total and then get as many runs as possible." India made it work again in the Ahmedabad stadium where they crushed England in two days in the third Test.
James Anderson claimed three wickets while fellow pace bowler Ben Stokes and spinner Jack Leach took two each and England seemed to be in contention for much of the day.
But left-handed wicketkeeper batsman Pant made light of the tough conditions and reached his third Test hundred with a six off Joe Root's spin.
Pant, who smacked Anderson for his 13th boundary with an audacious reverse hit over the slips, finally fell to the veteran quick and walked off to a standing ovation.
"In my opinion it was one of his finest knocks and it came under pressure as well. We weren't in a good position when he came to bat," said Rohit Sharma, who made 49.
"He was quite cautious at the beginning and then he flourished the way we know Rishabh Pant and put the team into a good position."
Pant, who made 91 in the first Test, has a reputation of throwing away his wicket after a good start due to his attacking style.
Sharma said Pant is "more than ready" to fill the void created by former captain and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's retirement from international cricket last year.
"He seems to be doing the job for us," he said.
'Warhorse' Stokes
England spin bowling coach Jeetan Patel said Pant had ruined their plans with his "huge" innings.
"We need to take those three wickets as fast as we can. Anything over 100 on a wearing wicket like that, it can be quite interesting."
Sundar kept up the attack reaching his third Test 50.
Suffering from an illness that appeared to take a mounting toll, Stokes earlier took two key wickets, including Kohli, and catching Ajinkya Rahane in the slips added to his key role after hitting 55 on day one.
He combined with Anderson, who bowled 11 maidens in 20 overs to make India work for their runs after they resumed the day on 24-1.
Spinner Jack Leach took the day's first wicket after trapping Cheteshwar Pujara lbw for 17 with the overnight batsman adding two to his score.
Stokes generated pace and bounced on the controversial wicket.
A day after his confrontation with Kohli, Stokes sent back the captain for his second duck of the series when he edged a rising delivery to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes.
Another Stokes delivery hit Sharma on the helmet and he took a sharp catch at second slip to dismiss Rahane for 27 off Anderson on the stroke of lunch.
The all-rounder denied Sharma his fifty when he trapped him lbw.
But Stokes looked tired in the final session and Patel said the "warhorse" was "pretty crocked".
India need to avoid defeat to book a meeting with New Zealand in the World Test Championship final at Lord's in June.
With inputs from AFP
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