Rishab Despite having a broken toe, Pant managed to record a courageous half-century on the second day of the fourth Test in Manchester while also dealing with England's hostility, bringing India's score to 358. Only a few hours after being taken to the hospital after the conclusion of the first day's game, his counter-attacking fifty, which was the 19th in his Test career, stood out for the sheer defiance it represented.

Pant had retired hurt after being hit on the foot during an attempt at a reverse scoop, and subsequent scans revealed a fracture that prevented him from playing wicketkeeping for the rest of the Test. But on Thursday morning, after Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur were out early, he was given permission to bat, and the southpaw resumed his position at the crease.

Knowing the struggle he was about to face, Pant hobbled his way to the center, where the Manchester audience gave him a standing ovation.

Pant could be seen having trouble running between the wickets during his innings. A video of Ben Stokes attentively watching Pant's limp after a single, glancing at the toe before changing his field went viral on social media. What followed was far from sympathetic, although Stokes at the time appreciated Pant's tenacity.

Stokes responded by unleashing a barrage of yorker-length deliveries that zeroed in on the injury, turning to a merciless strategy of targeting Pant's toe. The England captain used a well thought out and chilly strategy that made the wicketkeeper-batter uneasy but was unable to move him.

Pant didn't give in either. He boldly counterattacked while fighting well on only one leg. He refused to allow his injury to dictate conditions, bringing up his fifty with a boundary after dragging Jofra Archer over the ropes. As Stokes persisted with toe-crushing lengths, Archer joined the onslaught, aiming his sharp deliveries at the injury zone. In the end, it was Archer who defeated him, not with a yorker, but with a delivery that maintained its line after pitching outside off, drawing an edge and crashing into the stumps.

Watch Stokes watching Pant's toe:

Here's how fans reacted to England's tactics of targeting Pant's toe:

Nonetheless, Pant's tenacious 55 gave India's score a boost and instilled confidence in the team. Pant's wounded defiance stole hearts on a day when Stokes took his first five-wicket haul in more than eight years, even as England planned around his pain.

Read Also: Sachin Tendulkar Reacts Strongly as Rishabh Pant Battles On with Fractured Foot; Sanjiv Goenka Impresses with Elegance