Watch- Gautam Gambhir fumes as Rishabh Pant sacrifices Yashasvi Jaiswal for his opening runs

Published - 19 Sep 2024, 11:59 AM | Updated - 19 Sep 2024, 12:05 PM

Yashasvi Jaiswal Rishabh Pant Gautam Gambhir Abhishek Nayar
Yashasvi Jaiswal Rishabh Pant Gautam Gambhir Abhishek Nayar. Image Credits: X

India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant almost sacrificed his batting partner Yashasvi Jaiswal for his opening runs during the first Test between India and Bangladesh in Chennai. Pant walked in at No. 5 with India in huge trouble at 34-3.

Rishabh Pant is an aggressive batter but could not get off the mark in the first six balls as Bangladesh bowled tightly. But he got a juicy ball on the pads in his seventh delivery and he flicked it towards the cow corner.

The fielder at mid-on chased the ball down but before his throw reached the crease, the two batters Pant and Jaiswal, stole three runs. But it wasn't an easy three as Jaiswal had to stretch at the end and Pant had to dive his way in.

The throw came to the bowler's end and the bowler immediately threw the ball to the striker's end but Jaiswal was well in by that time. It would have been interesting to see if Jaiswal would have made his ground if the ball had been received at the striker's end.

Watch: Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant drag Kuldeep Yadav by his collar, risking him injury

Watch - Rishabh Pant almost sacrifices Yashasvi Jaiswal for his opening runs

After completing three runs, Yashasvi Jaiswal was seen on his haunches and took some time to face off the next ball. This is Pant's first Test after his life-threatening accident in December 2022 and he would have been nervous before scoring these important runs.

This was not the only time when both these batters were involved in a tight run-out call. After a few balls, Rishabh Pant defended a ball and called Yashasvi Jaiswal for a quick single. Jaiswal responded as he headed off with a full sprint. But the fielder at point Zakir Hasan got to the ball quickly and almost hit the striker's end.

Jaiswal had to dive with a full stretch to reach the crease, however, he would have been safe as the ball did not hit the stumps.

Watch - Yashasvi Jaiswal survives run-out scare with Rishabh Pant

Hasan Mahmud troubled India's top-order early

Meanwhile, it was a tough morning for India as Bangladesh elected to bowl first after winning the toss. Bangladesh were spot on with the new ball and got enough movement from the pitch.

It was Hasan Mahmud, who rattled India's top order with three big wickets. Mahmud dismissed Rohit Sharma first and then got the wicket of Shubman Gill when he was caught down the leg side.

However, it was Virat Kohli's wicket that silenced the crowd. Kohli tried to play away from the body and nicked it through to the wicketkeeper Litton Das for Mahmud's third wicket of the session.

Rishabh Pant came in next and showed aggressive intent right from the start. Jaiswal, too, opened up and started playing his shots after gaining some confidence. Both counter-attacked Bangladesh's bowlers and put the pressure back on them At lunch, India were 88-3 with both Jaiswal and Pant at the crease.

Jaiswal was batting on 37 off 62 balls with 6 fours while Pant was unbeaten on 33 off 44 balls with 5 fours. India will hope both the youngsters take their innings deep and build on a good partnership in the next session.