Swashbuckling Pant to Solid Pant: How the centurion Rishabh alternated between his two identities to slay England with another hundred

Indian Express

23-06-2025

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.
When Pant took the field, India, at 92/3, were in trouble. Skipper Shubman Gill was out on the 7th ball of the day and England was smelling a kill. There was chill in the air and the wind was howling across the field – it has been that nightmarish backdrop for many Indian batting collapses in England.
The ball was moving around and Pant was being watchful but he wasn't getting bogged down. When pushed into a corner, keep throwing punches, don't merely cover your face and defend – that has been the essence of Pant's Test match batting. This was grilled into him at Delhi's Sonnet club, famous for being the assembly line of international cricketers.
Pant's first coach, the late Tarak Sinha, had had a habit of repeating one line to all young cricketers – 'If you master defense, you'll master everything else.' Years later Pant would recall those days of training at Sonnet. He would say when Ustaadji, that's what they all called Sinha, was watching him he would diligently play the defensive strokes but when not, he would switch to his natural attacking game.
Most of his Test innings have followed the same pattern. This one was not too different, either. At the start of the innings, the daredevil batsman, as if to announce his arrival and sow a seed of doubt in the mind of the bowler, plays an outlandish shot. In the first inning, he smashed Ben Stokes' fourth ball over his head, and in the second, he ran down the track to Chris Woakes. This time he didn't connect but the ball took a thick edge and flew over slip. Point made, now would be the time to defend. It was as if Ustaadji had just walked on the Leed's turf.
Now the Swashbuckling Pant would make way for the Solid Pant. The next 12 deliveries had 9 dot balls and three singles. Pant, like the batting great from his city Virender Sehwag, presents a dead bat to the good balls and is a very good judge of both line and length. He is very quick to read the trajectory of the delivery. And this helps the 27-year-old be dismissive to the balls that are to go over the stumps or wide to them.
There was this lovely moment early on in his knock when he stabbed at a length delivery from Woakes, and got hit on the thigh. 'Pakki hui waali ball, itne tameez sey khelne ke chakkar mey choot rahi hai' (A ball ripe to be hit, but am missing it because I am giving so much respect!),' Pant says with a smile even as Rahul stays silent, gardening down the track. Couple of balls later, Pant charged down the track to flat bat Woakes to the straight boundary.
But when there are too many good balls being bowled, Pant understands the urgency to keep the scoreboard ticking. It is when the fear of the bowler settling into a perfect line and length creeps into him. That's when he fishes out his unconventional strokes that help him explore the unguarded areas of the field. His go-to stroke is the stumbling paddle shot that goes over the wicket-keeper and wider to fine leg. It is a risky shot but Pant plays it regularly. Today it almost resulted in him getting out.
Brydon Carse was generating pace and seemed to have settled in a nice rhythm too after he got Shubman. Pant played the paddle to the pacer but missed. England appealed and were sure that the ball would hit the stumps. DRS showed that was not the case. This was the over Rahul asked him to watch the ball and Pant, very respectfully, said he was. This pattern of sudden sorties, after periods of lull, continued all through the first session.
English shoulders were now drooping, Pant had again landed the sucker punch. At lunch India were 153/3 and breathing easy. Pant was now cutting the dot balls and hitting the big strokes more frequently. The English Bazballers were on the defensive now. Captain Ben Stokes took out the slips. Pant would become bolder and go hard on the ball. An edge would pass from the vacant slip cordon. English frustration would multiply.
Last year when England toured India, Pant hadn't yet fully recovered from the injuries he had suffered from the horrific road accident. This was the series Ben Duckett had hinted Yashasvi Jaiswal had been inspired by Bazball. It didn't go down well with the Indian dressing room with captain Rohit Sharma saying: 'Haven't they heard of a batsman called Rishabh Pant?'
After today, England, and the world, wouldn't forget Pant the Test batsman. The one who swings the bat but watches the ball closely.