New Zealand vs India: Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant get involved in a mix-up resulting in the latter getting run-out

Teams India had quite a task at the start of the second day in the first Test against New Zealand. After having lost half the side in just two sessions on the first day, they had to fight their way back. The onus was upon the duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant. Both these batsmen survived the testing phase on Day-1. They played patient cricket and spent enough time in the middle to have a fair understanding of the track.

While it was expected that these two would build on their partnership, it didn’t turn out that way. Rishabh Pant started the day on a positive note by smashing a big six right in the first over of the day. He looked determined to get a big score as his spot in the Playing XI is also on the line with some tough competition from Wriddhiman Saha. But when he was on 19, an unfortunate mix-up with Rahane cost him his wicket.

Ajinkya Rahane keen on taking the single

In the 59th over of the innings when India’s score was 132/5, Ajinkya Rahane pushed a delivery off Tim Southee towards the point region. There was no fielder present in that place and thus a single seemed to be on. Rahane had no hesitations in running for that one and set off immediately.

However, Rishabh Pant was sceptical about it and didn’t want to run. He set off at first but then stopped in between watching at the ball while Rahane was already more than halfway down the track. Having no other option, the left-hander had to run.

Meanwhile, Ajaz Patel quickly covered the ground and the ball was towards his throwing arm. He quickly picked it up and hit bullseye despite having only one stump to aim at. The ball jump about to clip the stumps but that was enough to dislodge the bails. Rishabh Pant had no chance to make it to the other end, especially because he stopped midway. He was left fuming as he went off the park and was seen scolding himself.

Here is the video of the entire run-out incident:

Poor rishabh pant. #nzvind Rishabh Pant pic.twitter.com/0VyjUuUl2g

— Shubham (@Shubham22605990) February 22, 2020