KL Rahul could scarcely believe what he had just seen. He stood at the non-striker's end and stared at Rishabh Pant at the other end. Glenn Phillips' mouth made an O. Daryl Mitchell had his hand on his mouth. Tim Southee broke into a smile.
But Pant - he was just doing Pant things.
It was late in the second session of the fourth day. The second new ball was just 6.2 overs old with Southee getting it to nibble around. He had just removed a set Sarfaraz Khan, and India's lead had ticked past 60. There was an air of nervousness around M Chinnaswamy Stadium. So what did Pant do? He went down on his left knee to a length ball on off and slog-swept it over deep square-leg for a 107-metre six.
There is something wildly fascinating about watching two eccentric batters go about their job in Test cricket. Every step of the way, they believe in changing the basics of batting in Test cricket. It's edge-of-the-seat stuff, not just because of the unconventional shots, or the fearlessness, but also in the mannerisms, the running between the wickets, even in small things like a forward defensive shot.
Pant and Sarfaraz are the models of eccentric batting. Just one of the two at the crease and entertainment is guaranteed. Both together? Phew, better keep up. They don't care about a textbook cover drive or looking pretty while executing a shot. They will play with the minds of the opposition, they will mess up the fields, they will access areas on the ground that most conventional batters won't, and often, they will leave everyone awestruck.
On Friday, for close to three hours at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, those watching were treated to one such a box-office show.
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The Test was on a knife's edge when play began on Saturday. India had done well to bring the deficit down to 125 on the third evening but Virat Kohli's dismissal off the final ball threatened to shift the momentum.
Then there were questions about where Pant would bat. He had spent all of day three off the field after being struck on the knee. Would he bat at his normal No. 5 position? If he did, would the blow affect his batting? Sarfaraz was unbeaten overnight on 70. How would he start the day? Would he continue taking the aggressive option?
The first five overs of the day answered all these questions. Will O'Rourke went short with his first ball. It was a delivery outside off, and Sarfaraz quietly ramped it over the slips. Four balls later, he split the gap between deep point and deep third with a late cut. He then played a similar shot against Matt Henry. In no time he was in the 90s.
Five overs in, Sarfaraz had already picked six fours. He soon reached his maiden Test century with a delightful back-foot punch which he celebrated by almost doing half a lap of the ground. Incredibly, he had not scored a run in the V till after his century. But he had scored close to 50 runs in the area between deep third and fine leg. That's also a V, no?
"I like playing the balls that rise high. I have a bouncy wicket back at home [Mumbai], and I play regularly there, and the bounce easily allows me to cut," Sarfaraz said about his shots behind the wicket. "They [New Zealand] were trying to bowl short at me, and I simply played accordingly. It was fun."
As Sarfaraz was sprinting away, Pant at the other end was warming up. He had got two fours but was yet to properly stamp his authority. He finally broke free against Southee, lofting him for a straight six down the ground, and then placed him in the gap between slip and gully.
Now in the groove, he got the boundaries flowing. Ajaz Patel became the centre of his aggression with Pant taking him for two sixes and a four quickly to quickly ramp up his strike rate.
By now, he had the crowd behind him. Riiiiishabh Pant… Riiiiishabh Pant went Bengaluru. It was not a capacity crowd, but it was loud, at times deafening. And New Zealand started making mistakes. The two had taken 113 runs in the first 22 overs of the day before the skies opened up, but a lead for India was well within sight.
The rain break didn't plug the run flow. Fittingly, it was a Pant reverse scoop/lap that took India into the lead as they threatened to run away with the game before New Zealand found a way back with the second new ball. The Sarfaraz-Pant stand ended on 177 off 211 balls. But, more than the runs, it was how they scored them. It was bold, even edgy; there was audaciousness despite the risk of knives being out had they fallen trying to clear the fence.
It certainly wouldn't have been easy. Both batters were fighting their own demons in their own ways. Pant only returned to Tests in late September after his December 2022 accident. Sarfaraz has been fighting for a place in the Indian side for the longest time with his fitness forever under the scanner.
Sarfaraz later admitted that they took inspiration from a stand these two shared in a Duleep Trophy game last month. Then they had racked up 72 runs off just 56 balls playing a similar counter-attacking role. The situation in the Test, though, was a lot sterner with India's backs to the wall after being bowled out for 46 in the first dig and allowing New Zealand to score 402. But despite that, what they didn't do was curb their natural style - instinctive shot-making married with aggression.
Whether or not their efforts result in an India win on the final day is not known, but both Pant and Sarfaraz will end the Test knowing they did their bit in helping their side stay in the game, by being their own eccentric selves.