No better feeling than making the ball do all the talking, says Hardik Pandya
Nottingham, Aug 20 (IBNS): Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya said there is no better feeling than making the ball do all the talking, a day after he rattled the English battling line up in their own backyard, picking up his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
"There’s no better feeling than making the ball do all the talking. Dream day yesterday, picking up my first fifer in Test cricket. Now the focus shifts to the last 3 days of the Test match. Let’s do this !" the allrounder tweeted.
Pandya's brutal spell knocked the sails out of England's ship as he picked up five wickets in six overs, sparing a parsimonious 28 runs in the essay.
His spell also halted the English juggernaut, which was shaping itself to play big, after their opponent scored 329 runs in the first innings.
Pandya dealt a major blow by picking up English captain Joe Root (16), and kept landing punches one after the other, kickstarting a parade.
From 84 for the loss of three wickets, England were decimated to a precarious 128 for the loss of nine wickets. A rearguard from Jos Buttler (39) saved a follow-on for the hosts, however, they still folded for a below par 161.
With the day's play ending, the visitors, after a mauling at Lord's, sit pretty with a lead of 292 runs with eight wickets in hand. More importantly, they have their best batsman and captain, Virat Kohli, at the crease.
Kohli (97) may have missed another Test century in the first innings, but his heroics with his deputy Ajinkya Rahane (81) paved the way for India's dominance in the two days so far.
Meanwhile, after scripting history as the first Indian batsman to hit a six as the first scoring shot in Test cricket, 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant became the first wicketkeeper from Asia and the third in the world to take five catches in his debut innings with the gloves.
Image: twitter.com/hardikpandya7
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