India vs England: Rohit Sharma hilariously slaps Rishabh Pant on his head while celebrating a wicket

The ongoing second Test between India and England is heading towards a thrilling finish. After suffering a shock 227-run loss in the first Test, India need to win this Test to keep their hopes of making it to the World Test Championship final alive. The Virat Kohli-led side has reacted brilliantly after the heavy defeat in the series-opener.

Batting first, India scored 329 in their first innings on a tough track. Opener Rohit Sharma starred with the bat, scoring 161 while Ajinkya Rahane (67) and Rishabh Pant (58*) played important knocks too. In reply, England were bowled out for just 134. The English batsmen fell like a pack of cards on the unpredictable pitch.

Barring Ben Foakes, who scored an unbeaten 42, no other England batsman managed to apply himself on the tough Chepauk track. For India, Ravichandran Ashwin was the star with the ball, taking 5 for just 43 while Ishant Sharma and debutant Axar Patel picked two wickets apiece. With a huge 195-run lead in the bag, India are the favourites to win the ongoing game and draw level in the four-match series.

Rohit Sharma’s slaps Rishabh Pant

In a match like this where a lot is at stake, the players usually remain very serious on the field and rarely share a light moment. Rohit Sharma, however, is an exception and showed it once again on the second day of the game. The India opener had hilariously hit Rishabh Pant on his head during England’s first innings.

The incident took place in 50th over when Rohit Sharma took an easy catch off Ravichandran Ashwin’s bowling to send back Olly Stone. And as all the players ran towards Rohit to celebrate the wicket, the batting star was seen hilariously hitting Pant on his head.

Here is a video of the incident

Rohit to Pant in dressing room: pic.twitter.com/A4QsutZkDs

— Sourav Root (@s0urav27) February 15, 2021

Meanwhile, India have further strengthened their grip in the ongoing game after taking their lead past 300 runs. The hosts were off to a decent start in the second innings and were on 55 for 1 before losing 5 wickets in quick succession to find themselves reeling at 106 for 6 on day three.

Virat Kohli and Ashwin then steadied the ship for the home side. At lunch, India were on 156 for 6 with their overall lead extended to 351.