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Indian fans were on cloud nine following Rishabh Pant‘s counter-attack batting display after a terrible start by the visitors on Day 1 of the ongoing rescheduled fifth Test against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
The tourists were behind the eight ball after losing their five wickets for a mere 98 inside 28 overs. But then, Pant and Ravindra Jadeja formed a game-changing partnership to put India in a commanding position. The wicketkeeper-batter specifically led India’s fightback as he smashed English bowlers all around the park to mark his dominance.
Pant took just 89 deliveries to smash his fifth century in the longest format, becoming the second Indian after Mohammed Azharuddin to score the quickest ton on English soil. The left-handed batter formed a jaw-dropping 222 runs partnership for the sixth wicket with Jadeja (83 no) before former England skipper Joe Root dismissed him. Pant smashed 146 off 111 balls with the help of 24 boundaries, including 4 sixes, to help India reach a comfortable position.
The cricket fraternity was in awe of Pant’s majestic effort with the willow, where he took England bowlers, including legendary James Anderson, to the cleaners. Former English skipper Michael Vaughan was also impressed with Pant, but the manner in which he praised the Indian star didn’t go down well with fans.
Vaughan took to his official Twitter handle to laud Pant for his splendid batting display, but he ended up comparing the 24-year-old with England batter Jonny Bairstow. Vaughan wrote: “This is great viewing .. @RishabhPant17 doing a Jonny B … #ENGvIND”
This is great viewing .. @RishabhPant17 doing a Jonny B … #ENGvIND
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) July 1, 2022
Notably, Vaughan was referring to Bairstow’s remarkable performances with the bat in the recently-concluded Test series against New Zealand, which England won 3-0. Bairstow smashed a 136 off 92 balls in the second Test at Trent Bridge and followed it up with a 95-ball century in the next Test at Headingley, scoring 162 off 157 balls. Fans, however, reminded Vaughan that Pant is well known for his explosive batting and has been doing such for a while now.
Here is how fans reacted:
He has been doing it long before Johnny B joined the party https://t.co/jTv3MOGGBf
— Dhruvin Shah (@Dhruvin_says) July 1, 2022
Taking credit for everything
If you know it was Pant who played attacking cricket in Tests way before than Johny B 🤣🤣 https://t.co/8xHMLK3env— Abhishek (@Abhi_Kohli123) July 1, 2022
https://twitter.com/sarvamsarcasm/status/1542906687098523648
A Jonny B? Respect Pant, he's been doing this since he made his debut https://t.co/86b6E5aFe6
— 🔴ZwetX🔴 (@x_zwet) July 1, 2022
Rishabh is doing this for last 2 yrs in test you absolute clown https://t.co/r0x6QZhXyn
— Adwait Pillai🇮🇳🇦🇷 (@GoatMessi9698) July 1, 2022
Jonny doing this only from last series and pant is doing this from his first test match so Jonny copying pant's style
— himanshu dixit (@dixit_nanu) July 1, 2022
Jonny did what pant earlier done ! https://t.co/OYp1lhY63e
— Santhosh M R (@santhoshmr18vk) July 1, 2022
Pant has been doing this since Johnny was struggling to get double digit scores so pipe down https://t.co/AmoxSpyBa3
— SV5 Enjoyer (@shiv_t3ds) July 1, 2022
Johnny B?
Dude he has been doing this before ur Johnny boy and is miles ahead https://t.co/tEqCV1ESye— Rudranshzzz ❁ (@RudranshPathak7) July 1, 2022
Jonny B was still in school when Pant invented this style of play 😒 https://t.co/M3yYN9lqU5
— Akash Jain (@AkashJainN) July 1, 2022
Imagine comparing Rishabh Pant, who has a flamboyant century everywhere, with the home bully who was farming ducks when visiting India. https://t.co/8SiNmeogaE
— .. (@etoveselo) July 2, 2022
