IND-ENG: KL Rahul reflects on Pant's suicidal run out in the Lord' Test

Rishab Pant threw his wicket away on day three of the third Test, giving England some positivity just at the stroke of lunch. Crusing along at 247-3, India seemed to be in a commanding position and had to survive Shoaib Bashir's over to get through to lunch unfazed. But tragedy struck the visitors as Pant, in an effort to farm the strike back to Rahul, ran himself out at the bowler's end. 

Hi main reason for doing so was to help Rahul get to his century just before lunch. At that time, Rahul was batting on 98, and a century from him just before lunch would have been the icing on the top of the cake. But that plan did not come to the fore, and the run-out allowed England to gradually forge a comeback. 

See also: WATCH: 'Show some ball'- Shubman Gill Sledges Zak Crawley During ENG vs IND 3rd Test

Rahul reveals the chat he had with Pant before his dismissal

KL Rahul had previously expressed his desire to get to his century just before lunch. He came mighty close to getting to his milestone when he was served a juicy half volley length delivery from Bashir. Although striking it well, the ball went straight to the cover fielder. In order to ensure that Rahul reaches his century, Pant wanted to see whether he could give the strike back to Rahul. It was at this moment that a brilliant throw from captain Ben Stokes sealed the fate of the Indian vice-captain on 78. Reflecting on the incident, Rahul called the run-out moment unfortunate. 

"Not ideal. There was a conversation a couple of overs before that: I told him [Pant] that I would get my hundred, if possible, before lunch. And with Bashir bowling that last over before lunch, I thought there was a good chance for me to get it, but, yeah, unfortunately, I hit straight to the fielder. It was a ball that I could have hit for a boundary. Then he just wanted me to rotate strike and see if he could put me back on strike. But, yeah, it shouldn't have happened: a run out at that stage really changed the momentum. It was disappointing for both of us. Obviously, nobody wants to throw their wicket like that."

Pant's run-out in the dying moments of the first session had a devastating impact on India's momentum. Following the end of the lunch interval, Rahul perished as soon as he got to his century, in the remaining few deliveries of Bashir's over. The visitors tried to remain afloat following the double blow. Jadeja and Nitish added a useful 72-run stand for the sixth wicket. But once that was ended, India quickly folded for 387 and as a result, missed out on securing a first innings lead.