India, July 25 -- Rishabh Pant on Thursday put up an act that people will talk about for ages. With a fractured toe, Pant walked out to bat with India losing its sixth wicket of Shardul Thakur for 314 runs. With the match wide open, Pant hobbled down the stairs of the Old Trafford dressing room to a loud reception and batted 59 minutes to add 17 more runs to his overnight tally of 37. Pant smoked Jofra Archer for a six and drilled Ben Stokes through the off-side for a boundary. After completing his half-century, Pant was knocked over by Jofra Archer in pretty much a replay of his dismissal at Lord's. But by the time his innings came to an end, Pant had done enough to take India to above 350.

As he took his time to climb back up the stair...