Rishabh Pant (Image credit: X)
New Delhi: Afghanistan missed a golden opportunity to dismiss the in-form Rishabh Pant on the second day of the one-off Test at the Maharaja Yadavendra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh.The incident occurred in the 89th over of India’s innings when Azmatullah Omarzai made a loud appeal against Pant. The umpire rejected the appeal, and while Afghanistan briefly discussed the possibility of reconsidering, wicket-keeper Afsar Zazai seemed convinced there was no merit.
Given its confidence in the wicket-keeper’s judgement, Afghanistan decided not to conduct a DRS review.But replays later showed that the decision could have gone in favor of Afghanistan.
UltraEdge revealed a clear spike as the ball passed Pant’s bat before passing to the wicket-keeper, indicating that there was indeed an edge.The missed opportunity proved costly as Pant went on to score 81 off 121 balls before he was eventually dismissed by Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi.Pant looked set for another century but failed to turn around his debut. Shahidi deceived him with a quick delivery as the left-hander raced down the track in search of a big hit.
The ball turned slightly, resulting in a foul shot under the club.The ball rose high into the air and Azmatullah Omarzai settled underneath it to complete a simple catch, putting an end to Pant’s entertaining knock.Earlier, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill hit impressive centuries to put India in a commanding position.Rahul scored 100 off 165 deliveries before being dismissed by Ziaur Rahman Sharifi, while Gill made 126 off 177 balls, an innings studded with 15 fours and a six.
