Sanjay Manjrekar says Rishabh Pant is making rapid strides, just like Bumrah

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar said India’s wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant is making rapid strides, just like Jasprit Bumrah. Pant, who scored a fine knock of 134 runs in the first innings against England at Leeds, Headingley, smashed another crucial knock of 118 runs in the second essay.

The left-hander scored 15 fours and three sixes in the second innings as he batted at the top of his game after India lost early wicket of captain Shubman Gill, early on the penultimate day of the Test match. The southpaw added a much-needed alliance of 195 runs with opener KL Rahul, who scored 137 runs.

This was Pant’s eight Test century as he continues to impress in the red-ball version. Pant is the first Indian batter to score twin centuries in a Test match in English conditions. The left-hander also became the seventh Indian batter to score two centuries in a Test match and became the second wicket-keeper after Andy Flower to score hundreds in each innings of a Test.

Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPN Cricinfo, “There’s obvious comparison with Adam Gilchrist that comes to mind. When you talk about Test cricket, there are so many batters over the years that you’ve got to be mindful of. He’s making rapid strides, just like Bumrah in the history of Test cricket, when you are looking at new players.”

Manjrekar hailed Pant for re-focusing after he could not make a connection while trying to play ramp sweep shot when he was only on 16 runs.

“We discovered the mental side of his batting. We thankfully have the stump mic and we can hear all kinds of chatter. This morning when he got obsessed with playing with the wind and falling down in the process, he got himself into a bit of a rut. Then we heard him talking to himself, saying – ‘What are you doing? Just keep it simple’. After that we saw the other side of Pant when he was only blocking.

“It was an almost two-hour change that he brought in his batting. Just imagine the kind of control he has over his batting mechanism,” Manjrekar concluded.

On the final day, England would need 350 runs to win with all 10 wickets in hand.