Rishabh Pant scored a hundred in each innings in the first Test against England at Headingley. However, his heroics with the bat was not enough to help India win the Test match.
India began their WTC 2025-27 campaign with a loss after failing to qualify for the WTC 2025 final. Gautam Gambhir's career as head coach also did not have a good start as India have just won three out of the first 10 Test matches.
Rishabh Pant became the first Indian wicket-keeper to scored a century in each innings and joined an elite list of Indian cricketers to achieve the feat in Test cricket.
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He Plays At Extreme Risk: AB De Villiers On Rishabh Pant
India had batting collapses in both the innings of the first Test not allowing them to finish where they would have liked in both innings. They lost 13 wickets for just over 70 runs across the two innings which is one of the reasons behind India's loss at Headingley.
Meanwhile, former South African cricketer AB De Villiers praised Rishabh Pant's heroics with the bat. He also backed the southpaw from his previous criticism of not playing according to the situation. Pant soaked up the pressure initially had a good defense and attacked once he was set and took the game to England. He had key partnerships with Shubman Gill and KL Rahul in the two innings.
“He plays with extreme risk. It’s sometimes going to frustrate the living daylights out of you,” de Villiers said on his YouTube channel. “I can count 20 occasions where he could have gotten out for under 30 in both innings. But he didn’t – and that’s the most important thing. He is a player that takes it to the opposition, and 99 out of 100 times, those are your successful sportspeople, not only cricketers, it’s the guys that are willing to take it back to the opposition absorb a little bit and be prepared to sort of take it back,” De Villiers said about Pant.
He further hailed Pant for knowing his game inside out and waiting for the right moment to attack the opposition bowlers. He also backed him for sticking to his game plan.
“I think sometimes, he does pull the trigger a little early but that is his recipe, that is his blueprint and it has been working for him. You don’t score two hundreds in one match if you don’t know what you’re doing so all credit to him to sticking to his game" ABD added.
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India Needs Rishabh Pant In Form
The next Test match starts from July 2 and Pant has found early form in the Test series. He needs to have a big Test series if India are to beat England in England. Currently, they are placed fourth in the WTC 2025-27 points table.
