'That's his blueprint, and it's working' - AB de Villiers praises Rishabh Pant after twin centuries at Headingley

Former South African great AB de Villiers praised wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant for his remarkable performance in the first Test at Headingley, Leeds. Pant scored centuries in both innings, although India eventually lost the match to England by five wickets on the final day.

De Villiers backed Pant’s fearless approach and stated that his bold style is paying off and that his twin centuries have silenced all doubts about his form. Despite a batting collapse in the second innings, Pant stood tall and became only the second wicketkeeper-batter in Test history to score centuries in both innings of a match.

“I think sometimes, he does pull the trigger a little early but that is his recipe, that is his blueprint and it has been working for him. You don’t score two hundreds in one match if you don’t know what you’re doing so all credit to him for sticking to his game,” De Villiers said in his YouTube video.

“A lot of people are giving him criticism, asking him, ‘can’t you see the match situation? Don’t you know what’s going on? Why don’t you read the game better?’ But look at his performances, you can never ever take that away from him and that is what most important is and that to me is a guy that’s happy in his own skin and who is prepared after failure to look in the mirror and to know, I’m the one who is going to answer the questions,” he added.

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The South African veteran also admitted that he sometimes feels nervous watching Pant’s aggressive approach, but emphasised that the results speak louder than the risks. He lauded Pant for sticking to his natural game and delivering under pressure.

“Rishabh, what are you doing? It’s not the time and place for this.’ But look at the results. That’s all that matters. It’s a huge shame they couldn’t cross the line because he deserved to be the Man of the Match,” De Villiers concluded.

India will look to bounce back as they will take on the home team in Birmingham for the second Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy on July 2.