Ajit Agarkar hails Rishabh Pant's crucial knock against England

Former India pace bowler Ajit Agarkar has said that indifferent form in white-ball cricket hasn't affected India youngster Rishabh Pant in Test cricket in any way. His comments came after Day one of India's ongoing rescheduled fifth Test against England, as Pant smashed a scintillating 111-ball 146 with the help of 19 fours and four sixes.

On the back of his knock, the Indian team recovered from 98 for five in 27.5 overs to 338 for seven at the stumps on the first day. Alongside him, veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja also did well and remained unbeaten at 83.

"He came into the Test match being a little bit under pressure because of his form in white-ball cricket, which has been a tad indifferent. But it hasn't affected his form in Test cricket," Agarkar was quoted as saying.

However, after scoring his fifth Test ton off 89 balls, Rishabh Pant also broke the former India captain MS Dhoni's record of the fastest century by an Indian wicket-keeper batter in the longest format. Moreover, the left-handed batter also became the only visiting wicketkeeper to score more than one overseas Test century in England.

"He was batting well, particularly for India. In the five-match series where he was the captain, he was under a bit of pressure," he further stated.

Ajit Agarkar, who has a Test century at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground, has also said that Rishabh Pant's style of play has benefitted Team India to a large extent.

"It's not the first time that he has done it. It shouldn't come as a surprise. It's just good for India that he has kept repeating it, especially in Test cricket. It not only put the opposition under pressure, but put India so far ahead in the game," Agarkar concluded.

Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami were in the middle as India’s overnight batters. Jadeja has played the anchor's role quite effortlessly, scoring 83 runs from 163 balls with ten fours. It will be interesting to see how they perform on Day 2 of the Test.