Indian wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant smashed his maiden ODI century to help India beat England by 5 wickets in a nail-biting decider in Manchester on July 17th to clinch the series by a margin of 2-1. Pant, batting at number four, played an excellent inning of 125* off 113 balls. He hammered 16 fours and 2 sixes. Along with sharing a 133-run partnership with Hardik Pandya (71) for the fifth wicket. The partnership helped India successfully chase down 260 runs against England in the final ODI on Sunday.
Pandya and Hardik were hailed by the fans and by former cricketers for their fabulous efforts. These efforts helped India clinch the series. But more than the sporting heroics, it was a sporting gesture. After the match, that won many hearts on social media, who hailed it as the “Best pic in the series”. Post-match, England’s Jonny Bairstow was one of the first English players who congratulated the left-hander for his match-winning knock. However, Bairstow went a step ahead, and he went on to give Pant a big hug which again set an example of Cricket being a gentleman’s game.
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Bairstow’s in love with Indians
Soon after Pant hit the winning shot, a reverse-sweep against a wider delivery from Joe Root, England players walked in to congratulate the Indian side. Chasing 260 in Manchester, where India have had a forgettable record in the past, Pant and Hardik’s 133-run stand for the fifth wicket helped the Men in Blue wrap up the chase with 7.5 overs to spare.
Jonny Bairstow, who has been a key player for the hosts throughout the entire T20I and ODI series, hugged Pant. Be it his love and hate relationship with Virat Kohli or his match winning knocks in the series Bairstow has been in centre throughout India’s tour. With photos getting viral on Twitter, Bairstow sportsmanship was appreciated by fans globally.
