India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will have his eyes set on history when the second Test against England begins at Edgbaston. After his breathtaking back-to-back centuries in the series opener at Headingley, Pant is now just one ton away from overtaking Virat Kohli in a special list. Pant’s aggressive batting rattled England’s bowlers in the first Test, where he smashed 134 and 118 in two innings. However, despite his heroics, India failed to defend a target of 371 as England chased it down with five wickets in hand to go 1-0 up in the five-match series. Going into the second Test, Pant has scored five centuries against England in Tests — the same as Kohli. Another century in Birmingham will take him past Kohli and level with Mohammed Azharuddin, who has six Test centuries against England. Only Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid have more, with seven each.
Pant’s record in England speaks volumes about his ability to counter English conditions. In just 10 Tests and 19 innings, he has amassed 808 runs at an average of 42.52, with four centuries and two fifties.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player? If Pant scores another hundred at Edgbaston, he will also become only the seventh visiting batter to slam centuries in three successive Tests in England. The elite list includes legends like Don Bradman, Brian Lara and Rahul Dravid. Dravid remains the only Indian to have achieved this, back in 2002. With India looking to level the series, Pant’s form could be the decisive factor at Edgbaston. All eyes will be on whether the swashbuckling left-hander can break more records while keeping India’s hopes alive.
