After their emphatic series win in Australia, India ran into Joe Root & Co in Chennai for the first Test series against England, and they toiled hard. At the close of play on Day 1, England were 263/3 (89.3) with Root unbeaten on 128 off 197 balls.
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England skipper looked in complete control and added a 200-run stand with Dominic Sibley, who made a defiant 87 off 286. That stand, broken at the fag end of the day, sure did the damage.
As India tried to break the Sible-Root stand, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant was at his oratory best, cheering up his teammates with a veritable live feed of what's going on and what to expect from the English pair.
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Here's one footage, courtesy BCCI:
And his relentless effort earned plaudits from fans with many repeating the 23-year-old's words on social media, albeit in written format.
During the day's 89.3 overs play at The Chepauk, Pant said some interesting lines, like “khud se kuch nahi hota idhar, karna padta hai,” "bhaiyon kya ho gaya, toda tight ho jao," "body language neeche ho rahi hai" to motivate his team-mates.
He also focussed on individual players, using sweet nicknames. At one time, he even said a couple using Washington Sundar's name. He said, "mera naam hai Washington, mereko jana hai DC," while the spinner was on the attack.
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Sensing Root's mood, Pant told Shahbaaz Nadeem "yeh shot hi maarega, sweep ya reverse." The young wicketkeeper also tried to impress seasoned spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, whom he kept calling "Aisha", with a prediction, saying “udhar se fasega toh mazza aaega."
Pant even sounded a leader when he told "bhagna padega Puj" to Cheteshwar Pujara after the fielder failed to stop a boundary.
Pant, billed as the heir-apparent to legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni, warmed the benches as India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series opener against Australia in Adelaide. Then, he played crucial knocks, including an unbeaten 89 in the series-deciding Brisbane, to help India fought back from 1-0 and win 2-1.
