Updated 22 June 2025 at 13:23 IST
Rishabh Pant has been one of India's most consistent batters in Test cricket over the past few years, a streak he continued on in Day 2 of the first India vs England Test match at Headingley. Pant scored an impressive century in typical maverick fashion and then celebrated with what has now become his trademark somersault in the aftermath.
Pant's ability to pick his moments to go berzerk and when to shut shop were praised by former India captain and coach Ravi Shastri.
Shastri highlighted how Pant seems to have a unique computer that ‘only he knows how it works’ but also said that it is exactly that which puts opposition bowlers under the pump.
"He has his own computer and only he knows how it works. That's his USP. That's what puts bowlers under pressure and makes him box office, a real entertainer and a match winner. He plays the numbers game beautifully, plays the way he wants. He will block for a bit and then shift gears," Shastri told Sky Cricket.
The fact that Pant got to his hundred with a six when he was 99 - a situation which would normally see batters go for a safe single - highlights the mentality that Pant plays with.
And the nature of his knock was such that he even made the legendary Sunil Gavaskar change his tune, as the former India captain took back his words that had gone viral during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
Back then, Gavaskar had uttered the words ‘stupid, stupid, stupid’ when Pant fell due to trying to play a scoop shot, but Gavaskar changed his tune entirely when Pant showcased his brilliance in Leeds.
Gavaskar uttered the words ‘superb, superb, superb’ after Pant's knock in Leeds, and it was hard to disagree with the legendary Indian cricketer.
Published 22 June 2025 at 13:23 IST