Leeds, June 21 (IANS) Former India great Sachin Tendulkar took to social media to highlight the ‘mind games’ that Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill were playing on the English bowlers during their 209-run stand for the fourth wicket in the first Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

Resuming Day 2 of the first Test on 65 not out, Pant displayed immense maturity and poise in the early hours of play. Pant absorbed the early pressure from England’s bowlers before unleashing his trademark attacking strokes.

He reached his century mark with a six off Shoaib Bashir and then broke out into his trademark somersault celebration. He played a valuable knock of 134 before being caught plumb by Josh Tongue. “Rishabh’s celebration is as entertaining as his batting! Well done, Rishabh,” posted Sachin.

Tendulkar also pointed out how Pant’s ‘extremely clever’ falling paddle sweep helps him and how conversing in Hindi allowed the batters to play mind games with the bowling attack.

“Rishabh’s falling paddle sweep is not accidental. It is intentional and extremely clever. Going down with the shot allows him to get under the ball and scoop it over the leg slip with control.

“Also noticed something interesting during Bashir’s spell. Shubman and Rishabh were speaking loudly in Hindi between deliveries. It wasn’t just casual talk. They were playing mind games with the bowler, trying to disrupt his rhythm. These minor details may not appear on the scoreboard, but they can have a significant impact on the game,” added Tendulkar.

Pant’s services were acquired for a whopping INR 27 crore by the Lucknow Super Giants ahead of the Indian Premier League 2025, after he already had a troubled patch during India’s 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the left-handed batter failed to provide the impact needed for a player of that price tag in the cash-rich league. He was subjected to immense criticism, but former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta also took to social media to reiterate the simple message of – ‘I told you so’ in regards to Pant.

“I know everyone hates an ‘I told you so’ but this is exactly why I kept saying that the IPL form will have no bearing on what Rishabh #Pant does in England. Always the X factor, proper match winner in this format. And now the Indian keeper with the most tons!” posted Dasgupta.

–IANS

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