'They were speaking loudly in Hindi': Tendulkar reveals Gill-Rishabh's ploy vs England

LEEDS: India batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar has revealed the genius ploy of captain Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant during the opening Test first innings against England.

Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant added a mammoth 209-run stand on the fourth wicket which put India in a commanding position.

Tendulkar, while analysing the duo’s partnership, highlighted the tactical conversation between them.

“I also noticed something interesting during Bashir’s spell. Shubman and Rishabh were speaking loudly in Hindi between deliveries. It was not just casual talk,’ he said on X (formerly Twitter).

“They were playing mind games with the bowler, trying to disrupt his rhythm. These minor details may not appear on the scoreboard, but they can have a significant impact on the game,” Tendulkar said of Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant.

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The little master heaped high praise on Rishab Pant for his batting while mentioning the southpaw’s trademark unconventional ‘falling sweep’.

“Rishabh’s falling paddle sweep is not accidental. It is intentional and extremely clever. Going down with the shot allows him to get under the ball and scoop it over leg slip with control,” Sachin Tendulkar wrote.

Rishabh Pant, who scored his seventh century in Test cricket, sometimes plays an unconventional ‘falling sweep’, a shot in which he often finds himself in an awkward condition.

Pant’s 136 off 178 balls, laced with a dozen boundaries and half a dozen maximums, featured the audacious ‘falling paddle sweep’ multiple times.

During his sublime century against England, Rishabh Pant broke multiple records.

The left-handed batter surpassed MS Dhoni, former Indian captain record of most Test centuries (6) as a wicketkeeper batter for India. Along with that, the 27-year-old now has 1,746 runs in SENA nations at an impressive average of 38.80 from 27 Tests, overtaking MS Dhoni.

Apart from this record, Rishabh Pant also became the first visiting wicketkeeper to score three centuries in England, while no other keeper has more than one hundred on English soil.

READ: Rishabh Pant breaks plethora of records with fiery ton against England