Pant and Gill take different routes up the spin hill

Pant and Gill Pave the Way for India's Strong Start

Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill put on a show in the first hour of play, racking up 49 runs between them off the bowling of Ajaz Patel in the first five overs. Pant, in particular, was aggressive, scoring three boundaries in the first over and going on to hit two sixes and a reverse-swept boundary down the ground.

The two batsmen adopted different approaches to tackling the left-arm spin of Patel, with Pant taking on the bowler head-on and Gill taking a more measured approach. Despite Patel's five-wicket haul, the duo put on a strong start for India, forcing Tom Latham to opt for a bowling change.

Key Points

• Pant and Gill put India in a strong position, scoring 49 runs in the first five overs off the bowling of Ajaz Patel.
• Pant was aggressive, scoring three boundaries in the first over and two sixes and a reverse-swept boundary down the ground.
• Gill adopted a more measured approach, trying to swerve and stab Patel's deliveries.
• Patel claimed a five-wicket haul but was stumped by Pant's aggressive batting in the first hour.
• The duo put India in a good position, leaving Patel to lament that he hadn't bowled as well as he could have in that phase.

Quotes

• Rishabh Pant: "I guess this morning I felt like I bowled really well, but Rishabh batted exceptionally, obviously he's been phenomenal throughout this tour and he's kind of the player that's kind of put pressure back on us, regardless of the situation."
• Ajaz Patel: "It's about keeping things simple, it's about controlling what you can control. If you put the ball in good areas and they play a good shot, that's out of your control, so for me it was just trusting that."
• Shubman Gill: "See, I didn't really get that much time because I was injured in the first Test. Even leading up to these Tests, I didn't really practice that much because of the injury. So, I didn't get that much time in the nets before the Pune Test match."