IND vs ENG 1st Test: Rishabh Pant's twin tons and KL Rahul's grit put England on the back foot

Rishabh Pant looked up at the sky and said a word of prayer. Those two years in darkness following a horrific accident and the recent struggles with the bat seemed a speck on the horizon. Pant savoured his moment of history and entry into an elite league of centurions in both innings of a Test — a feat that has eluded even the great Sachin Tendulkar.

The man who did it thrice — Sunil Gavaskar urged him on from the balcony to do the customary ‘somersault’ celebration, but Pant the maverick kept it for another time. It was time to soak in the adulation of a sporting Headingley crowd, his teammates and the opposition. Pant can now truly say his comeback is complete.

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It was this century, along with KL Rahul ’s masterful 137, that put India in a position of immense strength. With five centuries in the game, India hardly seemed a team in transition. There was a late collapse, though, when India once again lost six wickets for 31, leaving England a target of 371. The hosts had to endure a tricky half-hour from the red-hot Jasprit Bumrah but openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley were up to it, taking the score to 21-0 at stumps on Day 4.


Pant’s innings had a little bit of everything, from the initial moments of struggle and doubt to the determination to not throw in the towel. He found a guiding light in Rahul, who reminded him of the need to buckle down. Pant listened. England’s opening bowlers, Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes, were serving up a superb line and length. Skipper Shubman Gill, too, had been dismissed early and one more wicket at that stage could easily have opened the floodgates for England. Rahul at one end was brilliant with his defence, but the man under the heaviest interrogation was Pant.

The English pacers knew that the 27-year-old vice-captain can have his moments of madness and they were waiting for just that. But it seemed that Lady Luck had decided she would be Pant’s friend for the day. The ball missed the edge a few times, a couple of mistimed lofts fell in the gaps, one ramp shot gone wrong luckily got an inside edge before hitting the pad, and Pant survived.

The reward for all the patience was reaped in the second session. Suddenly the pitch eased up, the pacers lost steam and offie Shoaib Bashir was made to look like a club bowler. Pant, in his characteristic style, carted the ball all around the park as the scoreboard moved in sixth gear.

England’s bowlers didn’t know where to hide. It was deep into the ’90s that Pant suddenly started feeling the weight of history. The moment finally came with a single off the off-spinner as Pant eked his place in history. With England having a history of chasing down big totals, Day Five promises to be an interesting one.