Rishabh Pant was seen talking to himself in frustration during Day 4 of the Headingley Test against England. He expressed disappointment with his batting approach, urging himself to stick to the basics.
Team India captain Rishabh Pant was spotted speaking to himself in frustration during Day 4 of the ongoing five-match Test series against England at Headingley in Leeds on Monday, June 23.
India resumed their second innings at 90/2, with KL Rahul and Shubman Gill batting on 47 and 6, respectively. They extended India’s slender 6-run first-innings lead to 96 runs after bundling out the hosts for 465. The visitors received an early setback in the morning session as they lost their skipper, Shubman Gill, for 8, dismissed by Brydon Carse.
Thereafter, KL Rahul was joined by Rishabh Pant at the crease to carry on India’s innings. The pair steadied the visitors’ ship with a blend of caution and counterattack, vexing the England bowlers with their composed shot selection and sharp running between the wickets.
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Rishabh Pant not happy with his batting
As Team India looked to build on their lead, what caught the attention of the fans and experts was Rishabh Pant expressing his disappointment with himself regarding his batting. This took place after he attempted to play an unorthodox shot off Brydon Carse's delivery in the 32nd over of the innings, but the ball went no where.
Pant was looking down at the pitch and heard saying, “Tez ball hai Rishabh, maarna hai toh seedha lag jaayega naa iss ball pe, kuch alag karne ki zarurat nahi hai." (It’s a fast ball, Rishabh. If you want to hit it, just connect straight — there’s no need to do anything different.). The video of the same was posted by Sky Sports on its X handle (formerly Twitter).
Explaining Rishabh Pant’s inner dialogue, former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik, who was on air, stated that the southpaw was reminding himself of the basics and not to complicate things. He further stated that Pant was disappointed with his recent mistake, hoping that he would listen to himself by sticking to the basics.
“First up, he said to himself, play with the straight bat, I can still middle it. Don't try to do too much.” Karthik said.
“He is almost talking himself into saying he doesn't need to do anything out of the ordinary. He's pretty disappointed with what he did, but I hope he listens to himself,” he added.
Team India extends lead to over 150 in the second innings
After Shubman Gill’s dismissal, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have kept the scoreboard ticking with a steady partnership, rotating the strike efficiently, and punishing loose deliveries to keep Team India in the contest.
At the end of the first session, Team India posted a total of 153/3, with Rahul and Pant batting on 72 and 31, respectively, alongside a 159-run lead from the first innings, putting the visitors in a strong position as they look to set a challenging target for England.
After dismissals of in-form batters from the first innings, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, India needed a stabilising partnership, and Rahul and Pant delivered exactly that, absorbing the pressure and guiding the innings with maturity. Interestingly, KL Rahul received a lifeline after Harry Brook dropped his catch at gully off Josh Tongue’s delivery.
The last time India won a Test match in Leeds was in 2002, when Sourav Ganguly’s side registered a famous innings-and-46-run victory at Headingley.
