India vs England: Hardik Pandya 'in awe' of Rishabh Pant's batting style

Rishabh Pant's unbeaten 125 was the highlight of India's 3-match ODI series win in England on Sunday at the Old Trafford Cricket ground. In scoring his maiden ODI century, the 24-year-old became the 2nd highest scorer as an Indian wicketkeeper in England after Rahul Dravid's 145 vs Sri Lanka in 1999. Interestingly, Pant has already scored 5 Test tons, but until Sunday, the wicketkeeper-batter had none in the limited over format.

Pant who was being called out for his batting in white-ball format, revived India's chances with a 133-run partnership with Hardik Pandya that helped Rohit Sharma's team win the series decider by 5 wickets. Pant who is known to be a fearless batter, brilliantly paced his innings. Hardik Pandya, however, revealed that he constantly reminded Pant to play responsibly in the beginning and to enjoy the later part of the game.

Pant until the 24th delivery did not hit a single boundary. While he scored his 50 in 71 balls, it took only another 35 deliveries for him to make it to the 100 mark.

Talking about his partnership with Pant, Pandya heaped praise on Pant's batting style and said, 'Rishabh obviously he paced it and it was very important for us, that partnership as well and obviously the way he finished. We all know what kind of talent he has, it's just when it comes out it's very pleasing to the eye and your heartbeat goes up, but at the same time it gives your eyeballs (a treat) as well, you're in awe of the kind of shots he plays'

Jos Buttler, the England skipper too, lavished praise on Rishabh Pant's style of stroke playing.

'I think there are numerous great stroke players around the world. Rishabh is a very fearless player, he's someone who is great to watch. He's brilliant for the game in all formats. He's an exciting player to watch and it's probably his mentality that seems to set him apart. He obviously has fantastic talent but he's someone who looks (like) a really fearless cricketer and it looks like he gets great backing to go and play however he wants to play', he said.