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Swashbuckling Pant to Solid Pant: How the centurion Rishabh alternated between his two identities to slay England with another hundred
India’s Rishabh Pant plays a shot on day four of the first cricket test match between England and India at Headingley in Leeds on Monday. (AP Photo)
In an over where Rishabh Pant had twice swung his bat wildly but missed the ball both times, KL Rahul walked down the pitch with a piece of advice. The stump microphone would catch the interesting chat. “Ball achhe se dekho (Watch the ball closely),” Rahul would say. “Haanji … aisa nahi hai ki ghuma raha hu … ball achhe se dekh raha hu. (Yes … it’s not like I am just swinging the bat … I am watching the ball properly),” he said.
For years, Pant, a batsman with 8 Test hundreds and 6 scores in 90s, would have wanted to climb on rooftops of stadia around the world and say the same to those who saw him as a white-ball slogger. At Headingley, from the central square, he cleared the air once and for all, with a strong statement. With his second hundred in this Test – 118 on Day 4 following his 134 on Day 2 – Pant underlined his Test credentials and his 195-run partnership with the other centurion of the day, KL Rahul (137), gave India a chance to start the series with a famous win.
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