Team India lost the first Test of their ongoing five-match series to England, despite scoring five centuries across innings. Moreover, top-order batting was one of the positives as well. While the lower-order batters failed miserably during the series opener at Headingley, Leeds, bowlers too failed to step up, except for Jasprit Bumrah. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a century each, while Rishabh Pant smashed tons in both innings during the game as well.

However, former India player Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Rishabh Pant will carry on his sublime form to the second Test against England. He also added that KL Rahul, too, has no choice but to “carry his form through the series”. He shared his thoughts during the ‘Game Plan’ show on Star Sports.

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“I think he (Rishabh Pant) will (carry his form to the second game) because it seems like he enjoys batting in Test cricket. Any batter who gets two hundreds in a Test match, it takes a lot out of you mentally, not so much physically, getting a hundred in the first innings, and 48 hours later, you have the same kind of reserve to get another hundred. So that is a hallmark of an exceptional player,” he said.

“Rishabh Pant enjoys Test matches. He has not got enough runs. So he is hungry. I see Pant carrying his form, but there is another senior batter in the team, who now has got no choice but to carry his form right through the series. Indian cricket needs him badly, and KL Rahul cannot be a one-hundred wonder or a one-Test-match performer,” he further added.

However, Team India will aim to level the series when they play against England in the second match at Edgbaston, Birmingham, starting July 2 as well.