India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant brought up a well-deserved century against England on the second day of the Headingley Test. The left-hander eventually was dismissed after scoring 134 runs and guiding the Men in Blue to a massive total of 471 in the first innings. Pant's knock included 12 fours and six maxiumums, leaving the Leeds crowd thoroughly entertained.
Shastri remarked that Pant knows how to put opposing bowlers under pressure
Following his century, former India cricketer and head coach Ravi Shastri remarked that the 27-year-old plays the numbers game beautifully and has the ability to shift gears whenever he feels like doing so.
"Outrageous. He (Pant) plays the numbers game beautifully, plays the way he wants. He will block for a bit and then shift gears," Shastri said on Sky Sports.
"He has his own computer and only he knows how it works. That's his USP. That's what puts bowlers under pressure and makes him box office, a real entertainer and a match winner," he added.
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Shastri also recalled Pant's fatal car accident which took place back in 2022 and could have costed him his life. The former India all-rounder stated that when he saw Pant in the hospital, his body was bruised everywhere.
"That's why there was that celebration. Thanking the man upstairs for giving him the opportunity. I think his recovery from that accident had a lot to do with the frame of his body and being mid-20s. When I saw him in hospital, it wasn't a pretty sight. Knee in a mess, scars all over the place, bruises all over the place," Shastri stated.
Notably, Pant made a return to the national team with the 2024 T20 World Cup where Team India ended an 11-year ICC Trophy drought by emerging victorious in the final against South Africa. The century against England was the the left-hander's second Test ton after the accident and his seventh in the format overall, making him the India wicketkeeper-batter with the most hundreds in red-ball cricket. In typical Pant style, he moved into the three-digits with a one-handed six to England spinner Shoaib Bashir.
"This fella is box office. One of the great entertainers and one of the best hundred celebrations I have seen. He's a character, this boy," Ian Ward said while commentating on Sky Sports as Pant brought up his century.