Rishabh Pant's brilliant 134 in the Headingley Test drew praise from Sunil Gavaskar, who once criticised his shot selection. His 209-run stand with Shubman Gill put India on top before a late middle-order collapse shifted momentum.
Team India vice-captain Rishabh Pant received praise from former Indian batting legend turned commentator Sunil Gavaskar after scoring a stunning century on Day 2 of the first Test against England at Headingley in Leeds on Saturday, June 21.
Rishabh Pant resumed his batting after remaining unbeaten on 65 off 102 balls and an 138-run stand for the fourth wicket with Indian skipper Shubman Gill (147 off 227 balls) on the opening day of the Headingley Test. On Day 2, Pant continued with his mature, composed, and counter-attacking approach, converting his overnight score into a magnificent century, drawing applause not just from the Headingley crowd and his teammates in the dressing room but also from Sunil Gavaskar in the commentary box.
Pant was batting on 99 when he faced spinner Shoaib Bashir and smashed him for a six to complete his seventh Test century, the most by an Indian wicketkeeper-batter in the longest format of the game, surpassing former India skipper MS Dhoni’s six centuries.
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‘Stupid’ to ‘Superb’ - Gavaskar’s change of tone
During the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Sunil Gavaskar slammed Rishabh Pant for going for a reckless shot, resulting in his dismissal after he was caught at third-man leg by Nathan Lyon in the first innings of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Pant was dismissed at a crucial juncture of the match, and Gavaskar called out Pant’s shot selection by saying ‘Stupid, Stupid, Stupid’ on air.
However, Sunil Gavaskar was in ultimate praise for Rishabh Pant after completing his first century of the England Test series and described his innings by calling it ‘Superb, Superb, and Superb’. The video of the same was posted by Sony Sports Network on X, which soon went viral on social media.
Ahead of Day 3 of the Headingley Test, Cheteshwar Pujara asked the southpaw about his feelings after receiving such high praise from the former India captain and batting legend. Rishabh Pant reflected on the joy of working on his weaknesses and taking setbacks as motivation to make a comeback.
“The feeling is exactly what you're experiencing right now. It feels really good when you work on your flaws and turn a setback into a comeback. That was the thought process. Maybe I had done something like that before, but fortunately, I was able to change it. By working hard, staying focused, and maintaining discipline. So, it was a very exciting moment for me.” Pant said.
Rishabh Pant played a brilliant innings of 134 off 178 balls and stitched a crucial 209-run stand for the fourth wicket with Shubman Gill before he was dismissed by Josh Tongue. Pant and Gill’s partnership put India in a commanding position with 430/4. Thereafter, a sudden middle-order collapse saw India lose their last six wickets for just 41 runs, eventually getting bowled out for 471 despite a dominant start.
England aim to overtake India’s first innings
Meanwhile, England resumed their first innings back at 209/3, with Ollie Pope and Harry Brook batting on 100 and 0. The hosts lost three wickets of Zak Crawley (4), Ben Duckett (62), and Joe Root (28) on Day 2, and all of them were removed by Team India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.
Ollie Pope and Harry Brook were looking to build a good partnership until the former’s stay at the crease was ended by Prasidh Krishna, who dismissed him for 106 off 137 balls at 225/4, providing a big breakthrough to Team India in the morning session. After Pope’s dismissal, England skipper Ben Stokes joined Harry Brook at the crease to carry on the visitors’ innings. The pair steadied the hosts’ ship until Stokes was removed by Mohammed Siraj for 20 at 276/5.
After Stokes’ dismissal, Brook was joined by Jamie Smith at the crease. At the end of the morning session, England posted a total of 327/5 after 77 overs and were trailing by 144 runs, with Brook and Smith batting on 57 and 29, respectively.
