Rishabh Pant blew away England with an astonishing knock of 146 off just 111 balls to put India in the driver’s seat on Day 1 of the ongoing rescheduled fifth Test against England at Edgbaston. Pant’s stunning assault on the England bowlers helped India recover after being reduced 98 for five at one stage. The accolades came pouring in from all over the world with the Indian wicketkeeper-batter receiving widespread praise for his attacking style of play. Former England captain Michael Vaughan too praised Pant, but at the same time, managed to put off some fans by comparing his knock to that of Jonny Bairstow.
“This is great viewing .. @RishabhPant17 doing a Jonny B,” tweeted Vaughan.
This is great viewing .. @RishabhPant17 doing a Jonny B … #ENGvIND
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) July 1, 2022
The Englishman was referring to Jonny Bairstow’s superlative performances with the bat in the recently-concluded Test series against New Zealand, which England won 3-0.
During the 2nd Test at Trent Bridge against New Zealand, Bairstow smashed 136 off 92 balls to help the hosts to a five-wicket win when chasing 299 for victory.
He followed it up with a 95-ball ton in the next Test at Headingley, scoring 162 off 157 balls.
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Fans, however, reminded Vaughan that Pant has been batting the way he did in Edgbaston for a while now.
Better description would be-Jonny B played like Rishabh last week…..Rishabh was doing Bazball way before Bazball was even a thing. https://t.co/6Z8zIsaaVb
— Satirical Sort (@sarvamsarcasm) July 1, 2022
Pant is doing it since 2018 whereas Jonny from the last series.I know you are biased,but atleast get your facts right:)
— Shoaib (@ShoaibYahiya) July 1, 2022
Jonny B or rather whole English team is literally doing a Rishabh P since last month
— Neelabh (@CricNeelabh) 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
Why you need to compare with an English fellow rather than just appreciating him alone. Anyways, Pant has been doing this for 3 years and your Johnny is doing it for almost 4-5 matches. Spot the difference Mr. No Odi Hundred Captain.
— Chinmay Deshmukh (@chinmay70777) July 1, 2022
No Johnny was doing a Pant show in NZ series… pic.twitter.com/4XvVBlji9c
— MUHILAN (@MuhilanRaja) July 1, 2022
Sorry Michael… Rishab is just doing Rishab’s things! No disrespect to JB, he would need atleast a couple of those knocks away from England to become eligible for doing a Rishab!
— Kumar Gautam (@aries_gautam25) July 1, 2022
On Friday, Pant’s superb counter-attacking century helped India reach 338 for seven at stumps on the opening day.
The wicketkeeper hit 19 fours and four sixes while dominating a partnership of 222 with fellow left-hander Ravindra Jadeja, 83 not out at stumps.
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