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Rishabh Pant reveals his talks with Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Dravid during the 222-run stand at Edgbaston

Rishabh Pant revealed his talk with Ravindra Jadeja when the all-rounder came to bat on the first day of the 5th Test against England and also threw light into the conversation he had with Rahul Dravid.

Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja

Birmingham, July 2: The star of the first day of the fifth Test against England, Rishabh Pant revealed his talk with Ravindra Jadeja when the all-rounder came to bat.

Both the batters said to each other that 'Let's try for a partnership.'

Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja on Friday (July 1) added a mammoth 222-run partnership for the sixth wicket against England on the first day of the fifth rescheduled Test at the Edgbaston cricket ground.

The record partnership of 222 runs in 239 balls was shared between the two for the sixth wicket, which was the highest partnership by an Indian team in England.

This was also India's joint fourth-highest partnership in Test cricket.

Talking at a post-match press conference about his record-breaking 222-runs partnership stand with Jadeja, Pant said, "The discussion between Jadeja and me was that we seek partnership. I was just talking about building a partnership with Jadeja and we were like let's try for a partnership.

"I never take it as a favourite opposition. I do not think much about the opposition. I focus mostly on playing my game.

“When a bowler pitches the ball consistently in one spot I try to step out. play unconventional shots to unsettle the bowlers," he said.

Speaking about head coach Rahul Dravid, Pant said that he told him, 'Play according to the ball.”

"I work a lot on my defence. You can't play shots on plain balls so it's important to play on the throw. The only thing we discussed with Rahul Dravid bhai was that I should play one ball at a time and not focus too much on other things.

"My coach Tarak Sinha sir had told me long back that you can attack but you need to defend as well and respect the bowler when he bowls well and that is what I do.

“I have been focusing on playing a good shot and giving my hundred per cent. and that's actually helping me improve," he added.

"The pressure is always there. If you focus on it you might not get the results. so I try to focus more on my game. I focus on the variations that the bowler is using in his spell. And focused on the ball particularly, if there is a good ball then I play a shoot on it.

“I didn't have any pre-plan that I have to score more runs against this particular bowler," said Pant.

Rishabh Pant

The Indian team scored 338 for 7 on the first day of the fifth and final Test match against England at Edgbaston, which started on Friday.

At one point, Team India lost 5 wickets for 98 runs after a poor start. The duo of Jadeja and Pant batted with a bang and took Team India past 300 runs.

Pant played a superb inning of 146 runs in 111 balls and scored his fifth century in Test cricket.

At the same time, Jadeja played an unbeaten 83 in 163 balls. The partnership came to an end after Pant was removed by former captain Joe Root.

At the time of leaving the pitch, Pant had smashed 146 runs off just 111 deliveries. The knock totally transformed the face of the game as India went on to dominate the second and third sessions.

After Pant's departure, England were able to remove Shardul Thakur as well, providing them with some control of the game at the end of day one.

India will start the second day of the fifth Test match with 338/7 on board with Jadeja and Mohammad Shami batting at the crease.

Story first published: Saturday, July 2, 2022, 10:22 [IST]
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