"Why is he favored so much?" - Fans on Twitter divided over Rishabh Pant's early wicket at Lord's

A dejected Rishabh Pant walks back after his wicket on Monday.
A dejected Rishabh Pant walks back after his wicket on Monday.

India's last ray of hope for taking a match-winning lead at Lord's, Rishabh Pant, got out for just 22 in the third innings of the second Test. His dismissal came in the 86th over against pacer Ollie Robinson, as he edged a typical good-length ball in the 4th-stump channel to the wicketkeeper.

The wicketkeeper-batsman started the day on an overnight score of 14. He was circumspect in his approach - defending the ball under his eye, denying singles to his partner Ishant Sharma and only taking calculated risks. He hit a boundary as well, a powerful smack through extra cover against James Anderson.

But Rishabh Pant's disappointing dismissal left India reeling at 194-7 with a lead of only 167 runs.

As expected, the dismissal drew wide-ranging reactions from fans on Twitter. While some defended him, acknowledging that they can't expect a "miracle" from him every day, others simply labeled the youngster "overrated".

The following are the best of these reactions:

All eyes on India's tailenders after Rishabh Pant's wicket

Rishabh Pant was the last recognized batsman at the crease for India. After his wicket, attention turned towards the innocuous lower order - comprising of Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj - which has been criticized for not contributing enough with the bat.

Speaking ahead of the day's play, former England captain Michael Vaughan had opined that India will have to bat at least 15 overs to pose any challenge to the hosts.

“If India bat 15 overs, then that gives England around 72 overs to chase, maybe 200, 210. Then they are going to have to score at 3 an over. 181 runs have been scored today. The kind of pitch that it is not going to be easy to go flaying the ball to all parts,” Vaughan had said on BBC's Test Match Special podcast.

It will also be interesting to see the English bowlers' approach, considering how Bumrah targeted Anderson with a cocktail of bouncers and yorkers on Sunday.

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