Rishabh Pant has now been part of India’s Test plans for so long that it’s easy to forget he was only 20 when he made his first century in England, 114 at The Oval in 2018. Ben Stokes had dismissed him for 5 in the first innings, caught by Alastair Cook at slip, but Pant would have his revenge in the second. His free-flowing century and 204-run stand with KL Rahul gave England an almight scare as India pursued 464 for victory.
Stokes hasn’t dismissed him in 10 Tests since then, and some of that frustration spilled over on Day 2 at Headingley as Pant struck a quite magnificent century, in typically unorthodox and cavalier fashion. After playing with relative patience on the opening evening, he came out and clattered 69 off just 76 balls on Saturday. By the time he walked off after making 134 from 178 balls, studded with 12 fours and 6 sixes, even the Western Terrace rose to applaud him.
Pant had made an especially cautious start to his innings, save for giving Stokes the charge and thumping the second ball he faced back down the ground. That had elicited laughter from the England captain, but that sense of humour had worn thin by the time India went to stumps on 359/3.
Stokes’s mood didn’t improve on Saturday. Chris Woakes looked utterly pedestrian again, like a 36-year-old with no match practice, while neither Brydon Carse nor Josh Tongue could string consistent overs together. With the runs coming in a torrent, Stokes – who had played just one game since 2024 – was forced to haul himself back into the attack.
But it was the disdainful manner in which Pant treated Shoaib Bashir, the young Pakistani-origin off-spinner that appeared to rile Stokes the most. Pant greeted Bashir with a ludicrous scoop over leg-slip that left him on the ground after he played it. And the century was reached with a one-handed six that still cleared the rope by miles.
With Shubman Gill utterly unflustered at the other end, Stokes was straining every sinew just to keep England in the game. And when Pant smashed him down the ground and then smeared a pull behind square, Stokes saw it fit to have a word or three. Not that it stopped Pant carrying on his merry way until he totally misjudged a straight one from Tongue.
There has been so much talk of the challenges Indian batters face in SENA countries. Pant has a century apiece in Australia and South Africa, while this was his third hundred in England, to place alongside that 2018 effort at The Oval and his 2022 knock at Edgbaston. Neither of those, however, resulted in an Indian win. But having made Stokes lose his composure, Pant will be eager to ensure it’s third time lucky here.
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