Pant’s run-out biggest moment of the Test: Gill

India captain Shubman Gill admitted that Rishabh Pant’s run-out in the first innings was the ‘biggest moment’ of the Lord’s Test as it allowed England to bounce back.

Following his team’s 22-run defeat in the third Test, Gill termed the run-out as a ‘judgement of error’.

At the stroke of lunch on the third day, K.L. Rahul, batting on 98, was eager to get back on strike and called for a tricky single after Pant defended a Shoaib Bashir delivery to the off-side. Sensing Pant’s hesitation, England skipper Ben Stokes ran in from cover and effected a direct hit at the non-striker’s end that caught Pant short of the crease.

Though Rahul said that he had told Pant of his plan to get to the century before the break with a couple of overs to go for lunch, Gill said, “Sometimes, these small moments create a hiccup. That was the biggest moment.”

“We could have got a lead of 150 runs, but we missed it. We talked about this a lot, but I think it was an error of judgment, rather than (Rahul) wanting to score a hundred,” Gill said.

Gill also lauded Ravindra Jadeja for his efforts. “He is one of the most valuable players in India. The experience and the skill-set that he brings in with his bowling, batting and fielding is very rare and hard to find. And the kind of composure that he showed today, it was just tremendous to watch.”

Backing his instinct

Stokes said that his men knew that anything beyond 190 will be tough to chase. He backed his instinct and opened the bowling with Jofra Archer on the final day. “And, he swung the game for us,” Stokes said.

He, however, downplayed the simmering tension among the players from both the teams, saying: “In a big series, there will be moments like this. I’m all for it.”