“It could be very nervy sitting in the dressing room” - R Ashwin’s interesting take on Indian star during ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has said that watching Rishabh Pant go about his business in daredevil fashion is bound to be nervy for members in the dressing room. The wicket-keeper batter produced yet another outrageous hundred in the second innings of the first Test against England at Headingley, Leeds, to strengthen the visitors' chances.

It was far from smooth sailing for Rishabh Pant as he walked out to bat early on Day 4, following Shubman Gill's dismissal. The southpaw, despite advancing down the track against Chris Woakes in the initial stages of the innings, did not look comfortable.

After being pinned down by the England seamers from around the wicket, the left-handed batter tried to get going by tapping into his unorthodox means. He attempted audacious strokes twice in an over against Brydon Carse, but it could hardly be considered convincing.

In the first attempt, a wild slog sweep, he was rescued by the wind, which swirled the ball away from the fielders, carrying it to the ropes. The second time around, he tried to play the scoop shot, found no connection, and was struck on the pads. England went for a review, but the ball tracking showed the impact to be outside the line.

Ashwin remarked how he is enjoying Pant's bold approach, but he does not imagine that the feeling will be the same for the Indian team members.

"His modus operandi has always been up for questioning. Against Brydon Carse he played a slog sweep which did not seem like percentage cricket, which Dinesh (Karthik) did mention. Very questionable tactics, but that's the way he's been going about his business," Ashwin said in a video posted on his X account.

"If he's going to take the sword, might as well judge him by the performances and not by how he does it. As a fan, as someone watching the game away from close quarters of the dressing room, I am enjoying it. But it could be very nervy sitting in the dressing room if you are a coach, or if you are one of those players who wants to bowl in that fourth innings, it could be really, really tense," he added.

Rishabh Pant eventually recovered from his slump, playing much more convincingly in the second session to bring up his hundred. He scored 118 runs off 140 deliveries, which included 15 fours and three sixes.

"There is an element of a sharp cricket brain behind it" - Former India coach Ravi Shastri on Rishabh Pant's hundred on Day 4 of ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri dissected Rishabh Pant's approach, and outlined the importance behind the timing of knowing when to ramp up the gears.

“People say Pant’s batting defies logic but there is an element of a sharp cricket brain behind it. He knows when to counterattack. “It comes off on some occasions and on others it doesn’t, but if he had converted some of those seven dismissals in the 90s he would have had a double-digit number of Test hundreds," Ravi Shastri said after Stumps on Day 4 (via The Indian Express).

Team India have set a target of 371 for England to chase down in the final innings. At Stumps on Day 3, the hosts were placed at 21-0.