New Delhi [India], June 22 : Former India head coach Ravi Shastri heaped praise on the team's wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant following his exceptional batting performance on the second day of the Leeds Test against England at Headingley..
Pant slammed 134 runs off 178 balls, which was laced with 12 boundaries and six maximums, scoring at a run-rate of above 75.
Speaking about Pant in a video posted by BCCI, Ravi Shastri said, "He's outrageous. I saw that from the first day I saw him. He's different from the rest. He plays on his own terms. At times, he'll play the numbers game. At times, he'll just do what his mind says. There's a package there that can be extremely dangerous in test match cricket. I think ever since he's come into that number 5 slot, he's been extremely consistent."
Further, the former cricketer went on talk about the boundary which Rishabh Pant slammed on his second ball of his innings on the bowling of England captain Ben Stokes to open his account.
"If you're 30 for 3, for example, you might be tempted to send someone else. But with him, he's so aggressive, he can turn the course of the game. For the others to make the most of it. The other way to look at it is, if he has got a platform like he got today, in this innings. Comes in after lunch, with a score in excess of 100. He can really make you pay the price for it because of the range of shots and the audacity. I mean, the second ball, how many people will hit Stokes down the ground, second ball? So, it's a message to the opposition. I'm not here to just fool around. I'm here to take the attack to you," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.
In the end, the 63-year-old spoke about the 209-run partnership between team India's captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Rishabh Pant for the fourth wicket in the ongoing first Test of the five-match series.
"I'm really happy for him because when you see where he was after that accident. And to come and get a 100 in the first test of the series. I know what one against Bangladesh is, but this is special. When needed, the first test of the series as vice-captain of the side, batting with his captain, they know each other very well. To get involved in that partnership, fabulous," Shastri concluded.
On Saturday, Pant overtook former skipper Rohit Sharma, becoming the team's leading six-hitter in the history of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) history.
Pant's six count in WTC has gone up to 62, overtaking Rohit's tally of 56 in 40 Tests. The 27-year-old has smashed these sixes in just 35 matches, scoring a total of 2,386 runs at an average of 41.85 with five centuries and 13 fifties in his WTC career.The leading six-hitter in ICC WTC history is England skipper Ben Stokes, who has smashed 83 sixes in 54 Tests.Pant on Saturday also surpassed MS Dhoni to register the most Test centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper-batter and continued his good show in what are regarded as tough wickets in countries outside Asia.
Pant now has seven centuries, overtaking Dhoni, who has six Test centuries. This is also his fifth century in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) conditions, the most by an Asian batter. Three of these centuries have come in England and one each have come in Australia and South Africa.
Also, he has equalled Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara (seven centuries) for most centuries in Tests as a designated keeper among all Asian countries.
Earlier on Friday, Pant also completed his 3,000 Test runs, becoming the second Indian wicketkeeper-batter to do so after Dhoni and overtook Dhoni to become Asia's most successful wicketkeeper-batter in SENA on the basis of run count.
In 44 Tests for India, Pant has scored 3,082 runs at an average of 43.40, with seven centuries and 15 fifties in 76 innings. His runs have come at a stunning strike rate of 73.69.