Ind vs Eng 1st Test: Rishabh Pant shines by smashing second ton against England

Rishabh Pant celebrates his ton vs England yesterday. Pic/Bipin Patel

The spectators at Headingley waited with bated breath to see Rishabh Pant perform another somersault after he completed his second century of the first Test match on Monday. After striking a ton in the first innings on Saturday, he celebrated it with a somersault. But this time he decided that caution was the better part of valour, in case he suffers an injury, and signalled to the crowd that he would do so the next time he gets to a century. They let out a huge roar in disappointment.

Rewriting records

Though the world missed out on his trademark celebration after he completed another three-figure knock, Pant has made this Test match against England a memorable one by rewriting records. He became the first Indian wicketkeeper to hit centuries in both innings of a Test match. Of course, there were nine previous instances when Indian batsmen had made centuries in both innings of a Test match, but none were by a wicketkeeper nor in England.

The Headingley match was supposed to be a stern test for the young Indian team, especially their batsmen. It was supposed to give them nightmares in difficult conditions. Instead, it has turned into a virtual run feast. They came out with flying colours and piled on centuries in both innings. After three hundreds in the first innings, two more were added by Pant and KL Rahul in the second innings during their impressive 195-run partnership.

Pant faced a lot of flak after failing miserably in the recent IPL back home. It was only in the final IPL game that he scored a century in Lucknow, turning the tide. And that knock virtually changed both his form and luck. Before the start of the Test series, there was so much apprehension about his form, especially at Headingley. But on a flat pitch and a warm day on Saturday, he registered a century to get India going. However, the conditions on Monday were challenging. It was cloudy and a strong, cool breeze swept across the ground. In the first session, both Pant and KL Rahul were circumspect. They eschewed risky shots and it was only in the post-lunch session that Pant played his trademark strokes as he took on the rather lackluster England bowling by the scruff of the neck.

Riding on luck

Of course, some credit must go to Rahul too, who, time and again, goaded Pant not to go for rash strokes. But Pant did try them occasionally and got away. It was also the defensive tactics of England captain Ben Stokes that helped his cause. Stokes, strangely, decided not to keep any slips for the pace bowlers and a few of the edges flew to the boundary. Had there been a fielder in place, Pant might not have reached his eighth Test century, the most by an Indian wicketkeeper, surpassing MS Dhoni's six hundreds.

Though Rahul stood like a rock at the other end, his ninth Test century was overshadowed by Pant's belligerent knock.

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Rishabh Pant is the first Indian batter to score hundreds in both innings in England