The second Test between India and England begins on July 2 at Edgbaston, and home team captain Ben Stokes has voiced his appreciation for India’s wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant. Pant’s aggressive style of cricket has garnered him significant plaudits, including from the opposition, following his spectacular performance in the first Test at Headingley, where he scored 134 in the first innings and 118 in the second.
Despite India’s defeat in the series opener, Pant’s performance provided good chances of victory. While the visitors amassed a first-innings total of 471, thanks to centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Pant, England chased down a record 371 in the fourth innings to win by five wickets. Pant’s knocks in both innings kept India in the game until the last day. Stokes spoke with the media before of the second Test about the 27-year-old.
“I genuinely enjoy watching Rishabh Pant play cricket. I like how he takes it on in all aspects of the game. He has gotten a lot of flak in his time, but when you let that type of talent loose, that is what can happen, as we saw last week,” Stokes said.
Notably, the England captain and Pant shared an on-field moment in the first innings when the Indian hitter opened the scoring against Stokes with a boundary. Stokes smiled as his shot went over the bowler’s head.
“Two hundreds in the game, credit to him. We know we are going to get our chances with the way Rishabh plays. On a different day, it could have looked a little bit different if one of those shots had gone straight into a hand. But yeah, very dangerous player. We know what he brings to the Indian team. I really enjoy watching him,” he added.
That is India’s problem to deal with: Ben Stokes on Bumrah
Meanwhile, when asked about India’s possible team changes and Jasprit Bumrah’s availability for the second Test, Stokes chose not to speak on the opposition’s composition and remained focused on his team.
“That is India’s problem to deal with. I am the captain of England. Let India decide what they want to do and what they want to say publicly,” he further added.
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