India opener KL Rahul defended Rishabh Pant’s batting approach after the wicketkeeper-batter scored his second century of the match on Day 4 of the first Test against England at Headingley, Leeds. Pant’s knock of 118 made him the first Indian wicketkeeper to score two centuries in a Test match and only the second keeper after Andy Flower to achieve this feat.

Pant’s innings, which came on a challenging surface, helped India set a target of 371 for England to chase on the final day. Despite playing some questionable shots early in his innings, Pant reached his century in the 70th over off Shoaib Bashir’s bowling.

The 27-year-old keeper-batsman’s aggressive style of play has often been a subject of debate, but Rahul emphasised that there is a clear method behind Pant’s approach to batting in Test cricket.

“It is hard for us to understand his mindset but you let Rishabh Pant be Rishabh Pant. There is obviously a method to his madness as he is averaging 45 in Test cricket. There is a lot of thinking about the outrageous shots he plays. You just try to calm him down as much as possible between balls,” Rahul told reporters after the day’s play.The historic achievement by Pant has put India in a strong position going into the final day of the Test match.

England started their chase, reaching 21/0 in six overs at stumps, with Zak Crawley showing more resilience compared to his first innings dismissal.

Rahul expressed confidence about the match situation while acknowledging the challenge ahead. “It’s a blockbuster finish waiting tomorrow. At this stage of cricket I’m at, I’m a lot more calm in my head and not chasing numbers. Someone’s got to win tomorrow, it’ll be an interesting day,” he said.

The Karnataka-born cricketer also pointed out the deteriorating batting conditions. “The wicket is not as easy as the first innings, they won’t find it as easy to hit the ball on the rise,” Rahul added, suggesting the target of 371 would be challenging for the home team.