Credit: X
In the Headingley Test, Indian wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant achieved those milestones that no other wicket-keeper batsman could. One of them was surpassing former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s to register the most hundreds in Test Cricket. This milestone for an unorthodox batsman like Rishabh Pant, highlights how important and impactful in red-ball cricket for India. Pant also registered his name in the elite club of batsmen who scored hundreds in both the innings of the test match, the list featured batsmen like Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and former captain Rohit Sharma. At such a young age Rishabh Pant achieved this feat, as a result opposition also heaped praises for him.
In such an instance, England skipper Ben Stokes has commented about him as one of the most dangerous players in world cricket and a personal favourite to watch. Speaking before the commencement of the second test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, Stokes acknowledged Pant’s game-changing abilities and his fearless approach to batting. Stokes commented, “ Even though he’s in opposition, I absolutely love watching Rishabh play cricket. I love the way he takes it on in all formats of the game. He’s got a bit of stickiness in his time, but that type of talent, when you let that type of talent be free, that’s what can happen in the last week.”
Stokes further added that, “Credit to him, two hundreds in the game. We know we’re going to get our chances with the way that Rishabh plays. So yeah, it’s one of them. On a different day, it could have looked a little bit different. But, yeah, a very dangerous player. scored 134 off 178 balls, hitting 12 boundaries and six shots over the boundary. He followed the feat with another blistering knock of 118 runs off 140 balls, hitting 15 fours and three sixes.
Suspense still looms over Bumrah
Many independent expert panels and even the pre-match discussions focus on one big question, the inclusion of Jasprit Bumrah in the game tomorrow and his availability for the rest of the series. As he bowled around 44 overs in both the innings, which have increased the speculations of him getting overburdened. Ben Stokes remained distant from the speculations of the opposition’s team management.
“It is India’s problem to deal with,” Stokes said bluntly when asked about Bumrah’s workload and the possibility of him being rested. England, meanwhile, have named an unchanged eleven for the second test. Sticking with the same team combination that brought them victory in the first match. Their lineup includes a stable top five - Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, and Harry Brook - with Jamie Smith continuing as the wicketkeeper.
As the second test of the series will begin tomorrow, India will look forward to turn the tide in their favour by registering their first win of the series and equalling the tally 1-1.
