Former India cricketer Lauded Rishabh Pant for playing with discipline during IND vs ENG 1st Test
Nearly six months later of his “stupid, stupid, stupid” comments on air, legendary India opener Sunil Gavaskar praised vice-captain Rishab Pant for his measured innings. Playing against his character, Pant played a solid unbeaten 65-run knock off 102 balls on the opening day of the Headingley Test against England on June 20.
The southpaw batter began his innings in his usual fashion, with a boundary on the very second delivery he faced. He shimmied down the pitch and smashed a good length delivery by Ben Stokes towards the sight screen. Apart from that particular shot, his innings was a perfect blend of caution and aggression. His partnership with Shubman Gill put the Men in Blue in a commanding position at stumps on Day 1.
The 27-year-old southpaw displayed great discipline and restraint by not going after off-spinner Shoaib Bashir. He scored just 16 runs off his next 44 balls. His measured approach earned him plaudits from Gavaskar, who’s criticised him during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 Down Under.
On this occasion, the former cricketer lauded Pant for his calculative approach and taking advantage of bowlers when they’re tired. He also extolled Pant for his defensive technique against the pacer.
“Because he gives himself that time early on, it becomes easier for him to play those aggressive strokes later. When he defends, he seems to have so much time against the pace bowlers—it almost looks like he’s taking the mickey out of them, said Gavaskar. “Look, I’ve got all the time in the world; I don’t need to play a big shot, I’m just middling the ball. He’s got enormous talent. I’ve seen him score hundreds in South Africa and Australia, and they’ve been absolutely unbelievable. There’s such a great blend of defence and attack—starting with solid defence and then shifting to attack.”
India’s vice-captain smashed his second four on his 48th ball, which was through an outside edge against Chris Woakes. He broke the shackles and began to attack Shoaib Bashir after facing 60 deliveries. He first pulled him for a four first, then came down the track and whacked him for a six.
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Meanwhile, Pant notched up his half-century off 91 balls and also completed 3000 runs in Tests. Pant surpassed MS Dhoni in the list of most runs by an Indian keeper-batter in SENA countries with a fifty. When he got his 52nd run, he also became the fastest Indian wicketkeeper-batter to complete 3000 runs.
The Delhi batter is also on the verge of becoming an Indian wicketkeeper-batter with the most Test hundreds. He currently stands level with Dhoni with six tons. He needs more than 35 runs to achieve the historic milestone.
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