Rishabh Pant is making rapid strides just like Jasprit Bumrah in Tests: Sanjay Manjrekar

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has asserted that the Indian keeper-batter Rishabh Pant is making giant strides like the Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in the history of Test cricket.

While Pant was seen as a bit rustic at the start of his batting in the second innings, he later turned things defensive and kept everything in control as he stitched an impressive partnership with the opening batter KL Rahul, which turned things for Team India. Manjrekar was impressed to see Pant’s defensive approach.

"There's an 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,” Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.

"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,” he added.

"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.

Interestingly, Pant became only the second keeper-batter after Andy Flower to score twin centuries in England. Pant also became the first Indian batter to score centuries in both innings of a Test in England.

While OPan scored 134 runs in the first innings, he continued his good impact, amassing 118 runs in the second innings.

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