The first Test of the Shubman Gill era has begun in style. After the 25-year-old struck a century on captaincy debut during the first day of the Headingley Test against England, Rishabh Pant got to the triple-figure mark in the first session of the second day as their partnership soared past 150 to frustrate England. It meant that three Indians had scored a hundred in this innings after Yashasvi Jaiswal's sensational knock on the first day.
It is only the second instance of three Indian batters scoring a century in the same Test innings in England. Back in 2002, Rahul Dravid, along with Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, had achieved this feat, incidentally at the same venue, setting up what was a famous overseas Test win. Only time will tell whether this performance from Gill and co will result in a victory, but the batters have set the platform for the home side.
Resuming the second day at 359/3, England continued to attack with their field settings in a bid to maximise the new ball but neither Gill nor Pant seemed to be in any trouble. There wasn't a lot of movement on offer, except for the occasional delivery that moved a bit. England's seamers were guilty of bowling too full with the new ball on day one and hence, they dragged their lengths back a fraction on the second morning but they failed to get a wicket in the first hour on both days.
Pant got to the milestone with his trademark one-handed six over mid-wicket, after Ben Stokes had got the field up for off-spinner Shoaib Bashir with the left-hander on 99. There was only going to be one outcome: Pant attempting a big shot, and he succeeded in getting himself into the history books. It is his seventh Test ton, the most by an Indian wicket-keeper in the format, overtaking M.S. Dhoni in the process.
