LONDON (AP) — As his India teammates closed in on dismissing England in the third test at Lord's on Friday, Rishabh Pant gave himself one last personal fitness test.
When England was nine men down, Pant left the dressing room with bat in hand and walked the boundary for an impromptu net session.
He just wanted to be sure the left index finger he damaged while wicketkeeping on Thursday could handle his eccentric batting style.
The finger seemingly did.
He walked in as arranged at No. 5 in the order and was still there at stumps after scoring 19 off 33 balls.
But though Pant was in visible pain after some shots, England didn't really test him. He mainly faced tired medium-pacer Chris Woakes and spinner Shoaib Bashir, off whom he hit his three boundaries. He faced only one delivery from the faster Brydon Carse and got a leg bye.
The real test for Pant's finger and tolerance for pain will surely come on Saturday when India resumes on 145-3, trailing England by 242 runs, and he will have to face 90 mph (145 kph) zingers from Jofra Archer and Carse.
Pant was hurt after lunch on Thursday and never returned to keep for India. England wasn't dismissed until after lunch on Friday but Pant's replacement behind the stumps, Dhruv Jurel, shone by taking three catches.
Pant, India’s vice captain, made back-to-back centuries in the first test and a 65 in the second test.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
India's Rishabh Pant, left, congratulates India's KL Rahul as he celebrates after scoring fifty runs during the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
India's Rishabh Pant celebrates after scoring fifty runs day four of the second cricket test match between England and India at Edgbaston in Birmingham, England, Saturday, July 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
Alpine skiing in its Olympic form dates back more than a century and the sport made its debut at the 1936 Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Events have been modified over the years, but the individual competitions familiar to most fans like downhill and slalom remain. Here is what to know for the Winter Olympics in Italy next month.
There are five different events in Alpine skiing at these Olympics for both the men and women. The individual events are: downhill, super-G, giant slalom and slalom. Then there is the team combined event, which will be making its Olympic debut.
In downhill and super-G, otherwise known as the “speed events,” each competitor gets only one run. Giant slalom and slalom are contested over two runs, with the top 30 finishers from the opening leg starting in reverse order for the second leg. The team combined features two-person teams with one racer competing in a downhill run and the other in a slalom run, with their combined times producing the results.
Americans Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn are the two of the most accomplished skiers of all time. Shiffrin excels in slalom and giant slalom while the 41-year-old Vonn excels in downhill and super-G. It’s possible that they could pair with each other in team combined. The American squad also includes downhill world champion Breezy Johnson and defending super-G silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle.
The host Italians have a strong squad with Sofia Goggia and Federica Brignone — if she returns in time from injury — and Dominik Paris. Swiss standout Marco Odermatt is the top men’s racer.
Men’s events at these Olympics will be held in Bormio and women’s events in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The schedule features the men’s downhill on Feb. 7, the women's downhill Feb. 8; the men's giant slalom is Feb. 14, the women Feb. 15; and the men's slalom is Feb. 16, with the women's slalom on Feb. 18 the final Alpine event.
French standout Jean-Claude Killy swept gold in all three men’s events on home snow at the 1968 Grenoble Games.
Shiffrin became the youngest slalom gold medalist as an 18-year-old at the 2014 Sochi Games.
Austria’s Hermann Maeir bounced back from a horrific crash in downhill at the 1998 Nagano Games to win gold in super-G and giant slalom.
Alberto Tomba is the most decorated Italian skier in Olympic history with five medals: three golds and two silvers, won at Calgary in 1998, Albertville in 1992 and Lillehammer in 1994. While he’s from the Bologna area, Tomba spent many winters training in Cortina before he became a star.
Deborah Compagnoni, who was born in Bormio and raised just up the road in Santa Caterina di Valfurva, won skiing golds at three straight Olympics: 1992, 1994 and 1998.
Combined is the oldest skiing event at the Olympics, having featured when the sport made its debut in 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen. But the event’s format has changed multiple times over the years.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
FILE - United States' Lindsey Vonn speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup super-G in Val d'Isere, France, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca, File)
