"If I was Gautam Gambhir.."- Ashwin gives advice to Gambhir with regard to Rishabh Pant

India lost the first Test match against England by five wickets at Headingley but there were still some positives for them to look at. Rishabh Pant’s red-hot form with the bat serves well for the team ahead of a long tour. He hit centuries in both innings of the Test match and became the first Indian batter ever to do that in England. Legendary spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has heaped massive praise on India’s Test vice-captain. He reiterated his claim that Pant has a great defence and also praised his ability to play all the shots in the book. 

“Rishabh had a fantastic game, but I would like to repeat that he has a great defence. There is not even one shot in the book that he cannot play,” he added. 

Ravichandran Ashwin, however, stated that Pant should look to convert those centuries into double-hundreds due to India’s fragile lower order.

“I sometimes feel if I was Gautam Gambhir, I would take him aside and tell him, 'you played exceptionally well and I would have loved to be the batter with the ability that you have' but can I request you to make a double hundred next time when you are batting at 130 because you know the lower-order cannot contribute much. That would be the only request I would make of Rishabh. What a talented player,” said Ashwin.

Rishabh Pant played an outstanding knock of 134 runs in 178 deliveries in India’s first innings of the Headingley Test match. Skipper Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal also scored respective centuries as India posted 471 in the first innings. In the second Innings, India were in trouble after Gill’s wicket at 92 for 3 but Rishabh Pant came out all guns blazing. 

Pant struggled to time the ball well initially but got into the groove as the innings progressed. The southpaw seized the momentum from England and put the pressure back on them by playing an outrageous knock of 118 off just 140 deliveries. However, once he got out, the lower order’s fragility was once again exposed and India were bundled out for 364. England chased down a 371-run total on the final session of the fifth day with five wickets in hand. The hosts now take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series with four games left. The second Test is scheduled to take place at Edgbaston, Birmingham from 2nd to 6th July 2025.