Pant's Explosive Innings Draw Gilchrist Comparison as Chappell Hails Fearless Approach

Former India coach Greg Chappell has showered praise on Rishabh Pant, acknowledging his game-changing ability after the wicketkeeper-batter's remarkable centuries at Headingley. Chappell drew parallels between Pant's aggressive approach and that of Australian legend Adam Gilchrist.

Rishabh Pant's explosive batting defined the first Test, where he scored centuries in both innings.

Pant, currently serving as India's Test vice-captain, etched his name in history by becoming only the second wicketkeeper-batter, after Zimbabwe's Andy Flower, to achieve the feat of scoring a century in each innings of a Test match. Despite India's five-wicket defeat on Day 5 of the series opener at Headingley, Pant's explosive batting stood out.

"The beauty of it (Pant’s batting) is that he gets his runs at a very fast rate, which gives you time to win cricket matches. It was a phenomenal performance; some of the shots that he played probably weren’t in the MCC coaching manual when I last looked at it," Chappell stated at an event in Mumbai.

Chappell believes Pant is revolutionizing Test batting through a fearless approach. Pant leverages modern bats and his own natural talent.

"He is reinventing the game as a batter. You know, modern technology, the bats are very different. You can play shots that weren’t possible with the old bats. But man, he’s exciting to watch,” he added.

Chappell was also impressed by Pant's ability to keep bowlers guessing. “You never quite know what to expect from the first ball at any stage. He’s likely to jump down the wicket to the pacers, or he’ll play the falling ramp shot. You never quite know what to expect, so it keeps the opposition on their toes,” he explained.

Recalling his initial impressions of the left-hander, Chappell said, “When I first saw him, he was a different sort of player, of course, but he reminded me very much of Adam Gilchrist.”

Pant’s twin hundreds propelled him to a career-best seventh position in the ICC Test rankings for batters. India aims to capitalize on his explosive form in the second Test, commencing on July 2. A victory would level the series for the visitors.