PANT'S ON FIRE

Rish pickings leave Stokes reeling

RISHABH PANT and Ravi Jadeja taught the new-look England that when you run towards danger you sometimes get a punch in the face.

And on the first day of this rearranged fifth Test against India, Ben Stokes’ side got just that with Pant leading a fightback which took his side off the ropes and left England dazed.

At 98-5, Stokes’ bold decision to put India in looked set to pay off spectacularly.

Yet a magnificent 222-run partnership between Pant and Jadeja took the tourists from the edge back on to firm ground at 320 before the former finally edged Joe Root to slip to depart for 146.

A second late wicket saw England hit back in the final hour but at 338-7 this was a rearguard action of substance.

Having held firm for much of it with between three and even four slips in an all-attack field, Stokes (inset) was reduced to banging it in short with three on the leg side boundary in an effort to tempt one or both to hook themselves out.

They largely resisted, electing to pick off easier fruit against spin until Pant was out trying to put one in Birmingham city centre.

Pant has form against England, having posted centuries before at The Oval in 2018 and in Ahmedabad last year – two of his now five Test hundreds.

And he bats with a buccaneering style of which Stokes would no doubt approve were he not on the receiving end at Edgbaston.

The England captain deserved credit for sticking to an attacking Plan A and it will take more than a frustrating half-day’s play for him to abandon principles set in stone.

But his field placement – slips and few sweepers – left gaps which allowed the Indian pair to counterpunch their way back into the game.

England had started well after opting to make best use of early-morning movement and give themselves the favoured batting conditions on days two and three.

Either side of a rain break which saw an hour and 40 minutes lost, they took five wickets, Jimmy Anderson and Matthew Potts grabbing two apiece.

When Sam Billings pulled off a superb diving catch to dismiss Shreyas Iyer down the leg side off Anderson, India looked in all sorts of trouble.

Yet their third-highest stand for the sixth wicket dragged England back down to earth. Stoke’s side might have broken it when Jadeja had just five, an edge off Stuart Broad looking like it carried to Root at first slip but given not out, grounded, after a review.

After his seamers tired and the ball softened Stokes tried to tempt the pair with spin and mid-on and off brought up – but Pant accepted the invitation, smashing four sixes and 19 fours.

Jadeja was equally impressive playing perfect understudy and foil to Pant’s fireworks and finishing the day unbeaten, 17 short of his own century.

The new ball is due in seven overs which will give England hope for round two today.

also insisted the door remains open to all, including Alex Hales, who fell out of favour under Morgan.

Adil Rashid misses both series after being given permission to make The Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

However, Test skipper Ben Stokes will be available for the one-dayers.

Buttler made it clear he is not wishing to reinvent the wheel, particularly given the success of the sides under Morgan, insisting there will be consistency of approach.

“The team is in a great place and I see the game in a very, very similar way to Eoin,” he said. “I want us to play in exactly the same way.

“One big thing that we always talked about as a group is not setting boundaries, not having limitations, always keen to improve and push the bar higher.”

T20 squad: Buttler (capt-wkt), Moeen, Brook, S Curran, Gleeson, Jordan, Livingstone, Malan, Mills, Parkinson, Roy, Salt, Topley, Willey.

ODI squad: Buttler (capt-wkt), Moeen, Bairstow, Brook, Carse, S Curran, Livingstone, C Overton, Parkinson, Root, Roy, Salt, Stokes, Topley, Willey.