 "Rishabh Pant benefits from KL Rahul's advice, recovers from jittery start to slam back-to-back tons in Headingley Test")
Advice from batting partner KL Rahul as well as from himself proved to be effective for wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant as he recovered from a jittery start to complete back-to-back centuries in the first Test against England at Headingley, Leeds .
Pant had scored a century in the first innings of the ongoing Test along with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill. Both Jaiswal and Gill, however, perished early in the second innings, the latter in the seventh delivery of the penultimate day, and Pant nearly joined them in the dressing room after a jittery start to his innings.
Pant had produced a wide array of unorthodox shots in the first innings of the ongoing Test at Headingley, scoring 134 and forging a mammoth 209-run partnership with captain Gill on Saturday. The same shots, however, nearly cost him his wicket two days later at a crucial stage of the game.
Rahul advises Pant to watch the ball more carefully
Pant not only was heard talking to himself, which was captured on the stump microphone and was later translated by Dinesh Karthik on Sky Sports commentary, he also received valuable advice from Rahul.
“Ball achhe se dekho (watch the ball carefully),” Rahul was heard telling Pant during the morning session, during which the English pacers were in great rhythm and were continuously testing the batters.
“Nahi aisa nahi hai aise hi ghuma du ball achhe se dekhta hoon (It’s not like I swing my bat randomly, I do watch the ball carefully),” came the reply from Pant.
The chat with Rahul as well as with himself did have a calming effect on Pant as he built a steady partnership with the opener and took India to 153/3 at lunch on Day 4.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsPant, however, shifted gears once he brought up his half-century, and blasted his way to the three-figure mark for the second time in three days with a flurry of fours and sixes.
The 27-year-old wicketkeeper-batter eventually brought up his eighth Test hundred in 130 deliveries, 72 less than what Rahul needed to reach the milestone .
The feat helped Pant become only the second wicketkeeper-batter in Test history to score a century in each innings of a Test after Zimbabwean legend Andy Flower. He also became the seventh Indian batter to score a twin century in a Test.
Pant was eventually dismissed for 118 off Shoaib Bashir’s bowling after getting caught at long on, receiving a standing ovation on his way back to the pavilion after entertaining the crowd with 15 fours and three sixes.
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