India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant’s courage was on full display as he came out to bat on Day 2 of the Manchester Test against England despite having a fractured toe.

The southpaw sustained the injury during the first day’s play when he tried to reverse Chris Woakes and was hit right on the boot.

Pant was grimacing in pain and had to be taken off the field on a golf cart. The Indian vice-captain was batting on 37 when he got injured and left the field.

After India lost Shardul Thakur for 41 in the first session on Day 2, Pant arrived in the middle. He hobbled his way down the pavilion to enter field amidst a loud cheer from the Manchester crowd.

Pant fought through the pain to score a gritty 54, helping the visitors reach 358 before being dismissed.

For his courageous act, Rishabh Pant was lauded by former India cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar, who called it one of those moments which will be remembered by the cricketing world for 50 years.

“When we saw Rishabh Pant with Gautam Gambhir having a chat, he was in his whites — we thought maybe he might come out to bat at the end of the innings. Who would've thought he'd walk in after the fall of the very next wicket? He is injured, but don't rule out this guy.”

“If he's told one day that he can't move his feet, he's got such wonderful hand-eye coordination that he'll still be able to dominate. So England would be worried that Rishabh Pant is back, even though he looked clearly in pain. This is clearly Rishabh Pant's decision; he decided, 'I'm going to go out there'.”

“And when you do things like this — gestures like Anil Kumble bowling with his jaw strapped, those are moments in history you remember 50 years from now. It shows how keen he is to turn up for India. There's something about Test cricket, especially when it's being played in England.”

“Look at the amount of attention you get as a cricketer here. This is where he wants to give his best. If you wonder why he hasn't made the same impact in white-ball cricket, maybe this is why. Because Pant wants to leave a mark on Test cricket more than any other format,” said Manjrekar on JioHotstar.

Besides Pant's half-century, Sai Sudharsan and Yashasvi Jaiswal shined with 61 and 58 respectively in India’s first innings.

“This is a story I'm going to take home with me forever. This Indian team is missing two senior batters, and there are no senior players like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane and still they've batted nearly 750 overs in the series.”

“That's just incredible. With almost no experience, they've shown outstanding temperament and discipline. It speaks volumes about the hunger and maturity in this group,” Manjrekar concluded.

(With IANS Inputs)