Rishabh Pant smashed an extraordinary 146 as India recovered from 98 for five to reach 338 for seven on a rain-affected first day
4th over: India 13-0 (Gill 4, Pujara 4) Pujara gets off the mark in style, pushing Broad past mid-off with the greatest of ease. He also picks up two leg-byes when, as Broad notes, he was surely not playing a shot.
“As we all know,” says Alex Hankey, “India is cricket-mad. As an Englishman living and working in Pune, I am often asked where I come from, my ‘Native Place’. If ‘England’ gains lack of response, ‘Joe Root’ commands instant recognition. I can see that I shall now have to change that to ‘Ben Stokes’! Best wishes, and many thanks for all your efforts.” Pleasure! I’m old enough to remember when the magic words were “Bobby Charlton”.