"Hard to understand his mindset...": KL Rahul on Pant’s explosive Test knock

KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant stole the show on day four of the first Test between England and India at Headingley, Leeds. The duo scored respective centuries and helped their team to 364 in their second innings. While KL Rahul exhibited a technical masterclass of playing in English conditions, Rishabh Pant on the other hand was focused more on entertaining the crowd with his outrageous hitting all around the ground. After Shubman Gill’s departure in the 25th over, with the score reading 92/3, tension crept into the Indian camp. 

However, Pant counterattacked and stole the momentum back in India’s favour. Rishabh Pant mistimed a lot of shots initially while trying to hit big shots. However, the southpaw stuck to his method and kept playing his shots. Luck favoured him and he found the groove, soon after. Pant went on to smash his eighth century in Test cricket and became the first Indian wicket-keeper batter to score centuries in both innings of a Test match. 

His knock helped India set a target of 371 runs for England to win the Test match. At the end of the day’s play, KL Rahul lauded Pant for his game-changing knock. He reckons that there is a method behind Rishabh Pant’s hitting. 

"It is hard for us to understand his mindset but you let Rishabh Pant be Rishabh Pant. There is obviously a method to his madness as he is averaging 45 in Test cricket. There is a lot of thinking about the outrageous shots he plays. You just try to calm him down as much as possible between balls," Rahul was quoted in a report by TOI. 

India’s most experienced batter on the tour, KL Rahul anchored the innings with a stunning knock of 137 runs in 247 balls, including 18 fours. In the absence of senior players, KL Rahul rose to the occasion and took India to a pretty good position at the end of day four.

As it stands, England now need 350 runs to win, while India need all 10 wickets on the final day of the Test match.