Rishabh Pant raises the bar, sets up day 5 for India
CHENNAI: On air, Dinesh Karthik came up with a lovely line to describe KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant match-altering 195-run stand on a lovely Monday afternoon sandwiched by lunch. "Classical music," the cricketer-turned-pundit said. "at one end and hip-hop on the other end."
It kind of captured the contrasting 100s by both. If Rahul's was classy, Pant's was chancy, it resembled a man who kept winning at the poker table despite holding at least one deuce card on a lot of occasions. At one point, the stump mic even caught him disparaging himself. "I just need to middle, I don't need to do anything out of the ordinary," or something to that extent in Hindi (Karthik helped translate this to English).
It was during a tense phase of play when the hosts' bowlers were finding the right areas and asking all sorts of awkward questions. It reflected in the scoring rate (under 3). There were a couple of the now trademark Pant shimmies when he connected with air. The falling over sweep off a pacer resulted in an inside edge and on to pad. There were several plays and misses. After lunch, one outside edge flew through first slip to the boundary when the cordon was empty as Ben Stokes focused on containing. Later, an outside fizzed via second slip, with first slip wishing he had a bigger frame. It was just that kind of day.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
17 minutes ago
- News18
Rishabh Pant Equals Record Of Hitting Most Sixes In A Test In England
Last Updated: Pant hammered 12 fours and 6 sixes for India in the first innings of the first Test and smacked 15 fours and 3 sixes in the second innings. Rishabh Pant scored 134 runs from 178 balls for India in the first innings of the first Test currently underway at Headingley in Leeds and amassed a total of 118 runs from 140 balls in the second. The left-handed wicketkeeper-batter hammered 12 fours and 6 sixes in the first innings and smacked 15 fours and 3 sixes in the second innings on Monday (June 23). A total of nine sixes in the ongoing match helped Pant equal the record of hitting the most sixes in a Test match played in England. Before Pant, Andrew Flintoff (vs Australia in Edgbaston in 2005) and Ben Stokes (vs Australia at Lord's in 2023) also scored nine sixes in a Test match in England. Pant, who is India's leading six hitter in the World Test Championship (WTC), overall has hit 82 maximums in 44 Test matches played so far. Apart from equalling the record of hitting the most sixes in a Test match played on English soil, Pant broke many other batting milestones as well on Monday. He became the first Indian wicketkeeper-batter to score twin centuries in a Test match. Before him, only one wicketkeeper (Andy Flower of Zimbabwe) has scored twin centuries in a Test match. Pant is the overall seventh Indian batter, after Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar (3 times), Rahul Dravid (2 times), Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Rohit Sharma, to score twin centuries in a Test match. Pant has scored four Test centuries in England, which also helps him equal Matt Prior's record of most Test centuries in England by a wicketkeeper-batter. Keepers with most 100s in Tests In the list of wicketkeeper-batters with the most Test centuries, Pant, who has crossed the 100-run mark eight times, is only behind Adam Gilchrist (17) and Flower (12). First Published:
India Gazette
22 minutes ago
- India Gazette
"An element of sharp cricket brain..": Shastri on Pant's counter-attack at Leeds
Leeds [UK], June 23 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer and head coach Ravi Shastri has hailed wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant's audacious century in the second innings at Leeds against England, saying that there is an ' element of a sharp cricket brain' behind Pant's batting. Pant and KL's second-innings centuries put India in a dominant position as the second innings lead swelled over 300, setting up for an exciting finish on the final day at Leeds. While KL's ton was much more calm, composed and defined by technique, Pant delivered box-office cricket with his aggressive brand of batting. Accoridng to Sky Sports, Shastri said Pant's knock has given India a lot of food for thought. 'There is plenty of food for thought, but India will be very happy after a technical masterpiece from Rahul and the flamboyance and exuberance that you can imagine from Pant.' 'People say Pant's batting defies logic, but there is an element of a sharp cricket brain behind it. He knows when to counterattack,' he added. Shastri said Pant could have had a double-digit of Test centuries had he converted his seven dismissals in 90s to triple figures. Coming to the match, at Tea, India were 298/4, with KL Rahul (120*) and Karun Nair (4*) unbeaten. Pant scored 118 runs in the second innings, his second ton in the match, and consolidated the innings with a crucial 195-run partnership with KL Rahul. India started the second session at 153/3, with Pant (31*) and KL (72*) unbeaten. The duo launched a brilliant counter-attack against English bowling, taking them to their respective centuries, with Pant dismissed for 118 in 140 balls, with 15 fours and three sixes. India ended the first session at 153/3, with vice-captain Rishabh Pant (31*) and KL Rahul (72*) unbeaten. Despite Carse striking early, removing Shubman for just eight and sinking India to 92/3, Team India managed to give themselves a solid platform to go all guns out blazing for the remainder of the match, but not without giving England some chances. The final session on day three was cut short due to rain. Rahul was joined by skipper Shubman Gill, who was unbeaten on 6*. India ended at 90/2. England started the second session at 327/5, with Harry Brook (57*) and Jamie Smith (29*) unbeaten. Brook continued his counter-attack, while Smith (40 in 52 balls, with five fours and a six), Chris Woakes (38 in 55 balls, with three fours and two sixes) and Brydon Cwefarse (22 in 23 balls, with four boundaries) also piled up useful scores. Brook missed out on his century, scoring 99 in 112 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes, with Prasidh Krishna getting him caught by Shardul Thakur at deep backwards square leg. A 55-run stand between Woakes and Carse took England past the 400-run mark, and they threatened to surpass India's first innings total before Jasprit Bumrah came in clutch. Bumrah (5/83) and Prasidh Krishna (3/128) were the top bowlers as England was bowled out for 465. England kickstarted the first session of the day at 209/3, with Ollie Pope (100*) and Brook (0*) unbeaten. While Prasidh struck early to remove Pope (106 in 137 balls, with 14 fours), Brook stitched a 51-run stand with skipper Ben Stokes (20 in 52 balls) and a 73-run stand with Smith, taking England well beyond the 300-run mark at session end. A century by Ollie Pope (106 in 137 balls, with 14 fours) and fifty from Ben Duckett (62 in 94 balls, with nine fours) on day two served as valuable contributions as well. Brief Scores: England: 465 (Ollie Pope 106, Harry Brook 99, Jasprit Bumrah 5/83) vs India: 471 and 298/4: KL Rahul 120*, Rishabh Pant 118, Brydon Carse 2/62). (ANI)
India Gazette
22 minutes ago
- India Gazette
"This one is special": Athiya Shetty gives shout-out to husband KL Rahul as he slams 9th Test Century
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 23 (ANI): Actor Athiya Shetty has praised her husband and cricketer KL Rahul for his 9th Test Century. On Monday, Athiya posted a picture of KL Rahul from the match on her Instagram Story and wrote, 'This one is special.' Athiya also reposted actor Arjun Kapoor's Instagram Story, where Arjun can be seen playing cricket and wrote an adorable caption. '@klrahul stunning off drives while scoring his beautiful century in Headingley. Inspiring me in Bandra!!,' he captioned. Indian opener KL Rahul continued his brilliant run in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia (SENA) conditions, re-writing record books with yet another classy century against England during the first Test at Leeds on Monday. After playing a solid knock of 42 runs in the first innings, but missing out on scoring big in the first innings, KL made the most of all chances he got, scoring an unbeaten 120* in 227 balls, with 15 fours by the end of second session. His runs came at a strike rate of 52.86. This is KL's sixth century in SENA countries, including three in England, one in Australia and two in South Africa. KL overtook legendary Rahul Dravid (2) to register his third century in England as an opener, the most by an Indian in the country as an opener. This is his fourth century as an opener against England, tying with Sunil Gavaskar and Rohit Sharma (4 each). This is KL's fifth century as an opener in SENA conditions for India, and he is four away from breaking the record of Gavaskar (nine centuries). He has levelled with Mohammed Azharuddin and Rishabh Pant (six centuries each) to have the joint fourth-most centuries by an Indian in SENA conditions. The record holder here is legendary Sachin Tendulkar (17), followed by Virat Kohli (12) and Dravid (10). KL has a solid record in England, with 776 runs in 10 matches and 20 innings at an average of 40.84, with three centuries and a fifty. His best score is 149. Coming to the match, at Tea, India were 298/4, with KL Rahul (120*) and Karun Nair (4*) unbeaten. Pant scored 118 runs in the second innings, his second ton in the match, and consolidated the innings with a crucial 195-run partnership with KL Rahul. India started the second session at 153/3, with Pant (31*) and KL (72*) unbeaten. The duo launched a brilliant counter-attack against English bowling, taking them to their respective centuries, with Pant dismissed for 118 in 140 balls, with 15 fours and three sixes. India ended the first session at 153/3, with vice-captain Rishabh Pant (31*) and KL Rahul (72*) unbeaten. Despite Carse striking early, removing Shubman for just eight and sinking India to 92/3, Team India managed to give themselves a solid platform to go all guns out blazing for the remainder of the match, but not without giving England some chances. The final session on day three was cut short due to rain. Rahul was joined by skipper Shubman Gill, who was unbeaten on 6*. India ended at 90/2. England started the second session at 327/5, with Harry Brook (57*) and Jamie Smith (29*) unbeaten. Brook continued his counter-attack, while Smith (40 in 52 balls, with five fours and a six), Chris Woakes (38 in 55 balls, with three fours and two sixes) and Brydon Cwefarse (22 in 23 balls, with four boundaries) also piled up useful scores. Brook missed out on his century, scoring 99 in 112 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes, with Prasidh Krishna getting him caught by Shardul Thakur at deep backwards square leg. A 55-run stand between Woakes and Carse took England past the 400-run mark, and they threatened to surpass India's first innings total before Jasprit Bumrah came in clutch. Bumrah (5/83) and Prasidh Krishna (3/128) were the top bowlers as England was bowled out for 465. England kickstarted the first session of the day at 209/3, with Ollie Pope (100*) and Brook (0*) unbeaten. While Prasidh struck early to remove Pope (106 in 137 balls, with 14 fours), Brook stitched a 51-run stand with skipper Ben Stokes (20 in 52 balls) and a 73-run stand with Smith, taking England well beyond the 300-run mark at session end. A century by Ollie Pope (106 in 137 balls, with 14 fours) and fifty from Ben Duckett (62 in 94 balls, with nine fours) on day two served as valuable contributions as well. Brief Scores: England: 465 (OIlie Pope 106, Harry Brook 99, Jasprit Bumrah 5/83) vs India: 471 and 298/4: KL Rahul 120*, Rishabh Pant 118, Brydon Carse 2/62). (ANI)
