Sachin Tendulkar Praises with Calm Flair, Ganguly Overjoyed as Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul Score Centuries

KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant dominated with centuries, helping India set a challenging target of 371 to win the series opener at Headingley.

Rahul and Rishabh Pant’s Twin Centuries Propel India to a Strong Position at Headingley

After England nearly erased India’s first-innings lead at Leeds, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar expressed doubts about whether India could replicate their batting performance. However, under Shubman Gill’s leadership, the Indian side rose to the challenge. KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant dominated with centuries, setting a challenging target of 371 for England in the series opener at Headingley.

Rishabh Pant 118 in the second innings marked his eighth Test century and fourth in England, making him only the ninth visiting batter to score centuries in both innings of a Test in England. He also became the first Indian wicketkeeper-batter to achieve this feat, joining Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower from 2001.

Rahul contributed a composed 137 runs, his third century in England, surpassing Rahul Dravid as the Asian opener with the most centuries on English soil. The duo’s 195-run partnership was pivotal in shifting momentum toward India.

The twin centuries earned praise from legends Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. Tendulkar applauded Rahul’s calm and Pant’s flair on social media, while Ganguly called the performances “fantastic” and predicted a likely result in the match, weather permitting.

.@klrahul’s calm.@RishabhPant17’s flair.
Two special knocks. Two proud moments. 💯💯 pic.twitter.com/87mf8ak36z

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) June 23, 2025

Fantastic from pant .. tremendous test match batsman @RisabhPant .. very important 100 for KL rahul. Needed it .. test match all set ..there will be a winner tmrw .. if there is no rain ..@klrahul @bcci

— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) June 23, 2025

India on the verge of a win?

England ended Day 4 unscathed, with their openers adding 21 runs while negotiating three overs from India’s spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. Needing 350 more runs at just under four runs per over across the final three sessions on Tuesday, England face a challenging chase, especially with rain forecasted.

Despite England’s confident ‘Bazball’ approach and determination to chase the target, the odds still favor India. A successful chase would set a new record for England at Headingley, adding high stakes to what promises to be an enthralling final day.

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