India’s ace wicketkeeper-batter and vice-captain of the Test team, Rishabh Pant, who made a blazing century in the 1st Test match against England. The runs came on the 2nd Day of the match at Headingley in Leeds. Pant finished a six off the ball of the England spinner Shoaib Bashir to reach his seventh Test century at the beginning of the 100th over. It was his 4th hundred against England, and he celebrated it by somersaulting, like he did after he managed to get the century with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2025.
Also Read: Rishabh Pant Bypasses Former India Captain MS Dhoni In A Stellar Milestone
“When he defends, he seems to have so much time against the pace bowlers—it almost looks like he’s taking the mickey out of them.” India legend Sunil Gavaskar said.
Sunil Gavaskar's 'Stupid, Stupid, Stupid' turned into 'Superb, Superb, Superb'.
– This is Rishabh Pant for you! 🥶pic.twitter.com/SgDYDPBG1c---Advertisement---— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 21, 2025
The Transition of Sunil Gavaskar
Lord of Indian batting Sunil Gavaskar, who has been critical of Pant in the past, during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, became a huge fan of him in this game. During the commentary of the match, he said Superb, Superb, Superb when he saw Pant play a great knock and score a hundred. Gavaskar also liked the way Pant played by exercising caution as well as knowing how to exploit bowlers at the later parts of the game when they were fatigued. It is important to mention here that the ex-Indian captain had taken a dig at Pant, denouncing him as stupid, stupid, stupid in the Australia Test series.
Pant- A Balance Between Caution And Aggression
The innings of Pant was the right kind of blend of caution and aggression. He had a very aggressive start, bowling to Ben Stokes on his very second ball. However, thereafter, he was very restrained towards Shoaib Bashir, scoring only 16 runs of the next 44 balls. This calmer style later got him appreciation from Gavaskar, who liked the fact that Pant played his innings well and had good fun against weary bowlers towards the end of the game. The English got rid of Pant when Josh Tongue bowled an inswing that led to the dismissal of Pant by LBW on 134 runs.
