After his magnificent century against England on the first day of the Edgbaston Test, Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant has become the talk of the town. Prior to Pant and Jadeja's lower-order partnership, India was in danger after being reduced to 98/5 within the very first 30 overs.
While Jadeja offered stability, Pant unleashed his fury on every English bowler, especially spinner Jack Leach, who surrendered 71 runs in just nine overs, as well as the combo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad and the youngster Matty Potts.
Pant rose to the occasion and didn't worry about losing his wicket since the only way India could go after losing half of their team below 100 was up. It was a nasty exhibition of huge hitting from the 24-year-old, so Pant and Jadeja made sure they turned the tables around.
Given the circumstances, the method he batted, and the score he helped his team reach, Pant's 5th Test century, which came at a strike rate of 131, was perhaps his best performance to date.
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra was in awe of Pant's batting display and claimed that he was a totally different player while playing red-ball cricket and that he was making Test cricket romantic.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, "He is a free-spirited player, started from here only. You can say, although it is a very young career, the best wicketkeeper-batter in India's cricket history in Test matches. India has not seen a better wicketkeeper-batter in white clothing, with the red ball. That's a reality. He is making Test cricket romantic.
"He has conquered all grounds. There is no place where he has not gone and hit, whether it is Australia's Gabba or this Edgbaston ground, he scored runs in South Africa as well. No job has been difficult for him in white clothing, he is a different player," he added.
While complimenting the bravery Pant exhibited by Pant and his strokes, in particular the reverse sweep against pacers, Chopra highlighted that his promotion to No. 5 ahead of Shreyas Iyer was intriguing and a signal that he is saying he is a pure batter and his batting can't be disregarded.
"The counterattack he did, he stepped out to Jimmy Anderson at the start and hit him straight down the ground. He has got the audacity and then he continuously attacked, just did not look back," Chopra added.
