England tested Pant with barrage of short-pitched deliveries on the body.
English skipper Ben Stokes kept six fielders on the leg-side boundary and tested Pant with barrage of short-pitched deliveries on the body. Despite carrying an injury in his left index finger, the southpaw managed it quite well.
Pant repeatedly unleashed the pull shot but kept it short of the fielders or on the ground. On one occasion, he hit it in the air and almost cleared the tallest English fielder, Zak Crawley, at deep fine leg.
The left-hander was hit on the gloves a few times as well, but continued undeterred after receiving the medical attention.
Gavaskar was not one bit pleased by the turn of events as he criticized the home team on-air and made an on-air plea to the ICC Cricket Committee chairman, Sourav Ganguly, to lead a change.
“Fifty-six percent of the balls bowled today have been short. They have four fielders on the boundary waiting for the bouncer. That is not cricket, according to me. When the West Indies were bowling short, they brought in a rule for only two bouncers per over. That was to restrict the strength of the West Indies," Gavaskar said.
“Now we are seeing bouncers being bowled. Look at the field that has been arranged. This is not cricket. There should not be more than six fielders on the leg side. If Sourav Ganguly, who is the chairman of the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee, is watching this, please make sure that next time not more than six fielders can be kept on the leg side," he added.
Rishabh Pant was eventually run-out by Ben Stokes at the stroke of lunch. Pant was on 74 and the fourth-wicket stand with KL Rahul was worth nearly 150 when he set off for a quick single off Shoaib Bashir’s bowling in the final over of the first session.
Stokes, who had experienced a frustrating morning on Saturday with little going England’s way, picked up the ball at cover point and hurdle a throw towards the non-striker’s end with pinpoint accuracy.
The English players erupted in celebrations even before umpire Sharfuddoula decided to consult the third umpire to confirm Pant’s dismissal. India ended the first session at 248/4, trailing England by 139 runs.