England vs India, 4th Test: Rishabh Pant Achieves Unwanted Feat; Faces 29 Balls to Bag Duck

Team India wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant entered the record books for an unwanted reason by scoring a duck. The swashbuckling batsman Pant was seen smashing star bowlers all around the park in Indian Premier League (IPL) was troubled quite a lot by the English bowlers on Day two of the fourth Test against England at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

Pant looked in control and tried to be composed at the crease. He left quite a few deliveries to start with. After being unable to score after 15 deliveries, Pant began to become a bit restless. He poked at deliveries outside the off stump of the bowling of James Anderson and Ben Stokes.

The southpaw didn’t manage to get off the mark. He tried quite a bit and looked for a single here and there. However with Cheteshwar Pujara at the other end, you cannot look for quick singles. He is not one of the better runners behind the wicket. Hence, Pant was unable to get that quick single.

Off-spinner Moeen Ali eventually dismissed him with a delivery which straightened after pitching. Pant went onto face 29 deliveries without opening his account. It is the joint highest for India in Test cricket with Irfan Pathan and Suresh Raina.

Pathan had played 29 deliveries without troubling the scorers back against Pakistan at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore back in 2005.

Rishabh Pant is an exciting prospect for India.

Meanwhile, Suresh Raina also achieved the unwanted feat in the England tour of 2011. It was the Oval Test when Raina played 29 balls without a solitary run.

Meanwhile coming back to the penultimate Test between India and England, the match is the balance. After a shared opening session, England bounced back strongly in the second session when England bagged three wickets.

It was a great piece of bowling by the English bowlers. Stuart Broad took a couple of wickets in the opening session while Sam Curran took the prized wicket of Virat Kohli.

Ben Stokes has undone Ajinkya Rahane with a terrific inswinging delivery. When the article was written India had lost five wickets for 187 runs with Cheteshwar Pujara and Hardik Pandya in the middle.

Here are the three batsmen who have achieved the unwanted feat; Rishabh Pant registered a duck

29 – Irfan Pathan v Pakistan, Bangalore, 2005 29 – Suresh Raina v England, The Oval, 2011 29 – Rishabh Pant v England, Southampton, 2018*