New Delhi [India], June 22 : Former cricketer Dinesh Karthik praised the Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant for his "bold, audacious shots" on the second day of the Leeds Test against England at Headingley on Sunday.
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, Karthik said, "I enjoy watching Rishabh Pant bat because of what he brings to the table. completely unpredictable. Exhilarating shots. And when I watch him, I don't know on a given day what to expect. That is the box of his test cricket. Walking in, he could just give you anything. And I love that about him. He's willing to take on and play bold, audacious shots. He's one of my most favourite cricketers to watch when he plays test cricket. Because, on a given day, he could take on any bowler depending on what he feels like is right for the day. That is so instinctive and so pure. It's joyful to watch him bat."
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.