IND vs ENG: Gautam Gambhir refuses to give Rishabh Pant credit for twin centuries at Headingley

Mayank Bande

IND vs ENG: Gautam Gambhir refuses to give Rishabh Pant credit for twin centuries at Headingley image

Rishabh Pant created history at Headingley with two centuries in the match as he became the first Indian wicketkeeper batter to do so and only the second in history after Andy Flower's heroics against South Africa in 2001.

But India coach Gautam Gambhir refused to credit Pant's achievement when asked by a reporter during a press conference.

After being asked to bat first, Pant joined captain Shubman Gill at 221/3 in the first innings and 209 runs for the 4th wicket, subsequently getting out at 453/6 after his 134.

Follow The Sporting News India on WhatsApp

In the second innings, he came in at a precarious stage with 92/3 on the board and once again added 195 runs, this time with KL Rahul, before he was dismissed at 118 runs.

Gambhir refuses credit to Pant after twin Test centuries at Headingley

During the post-match press conference after England chased down 371 runs, Gambhir visibly looked disappointed at a journalist who brought up the two hundreds scored by Pant in the match.

"There are three more centuries as well," Gambhir replied. "Those are big positives as well. Thank you."

The Indian coach appeared visibly upset by the team's collective defeat and chose not to focus on individual performances. 

Despite four players scoring five centuries at Headingley -- Jaiswal, Gill, Pant (2), and Rahul -- India ended up on the losing side, becoming the first team to lose a Test match despite having five centurions. The record was previously held by Australia's four tons vs. England in Melbourne in 1928.

READ MORE: What is India's record in Tests under Gautam Gambhir as head coach? Full results detailed

"I would have liked it if you had said about a hundred from Yashasvi, a hundred from Shubman in the first Test the captain, a hundred from KL and two centuries from Rishabh Pant — five centuries in a Test match. The question could have been better," he added.

As the videos of the presser came out, people seemed unhappy with how Gambhir handled it in the presser.

The journalist in question, Subhayan Chakraborty, revealed being interrupted in the middle of his question as he was hoping to ask about Pant's extra workload, both as a batter and as a wicket-keeper in both innings.

Mayank Bande

Mayank Bande has been a content producer at The Sporting News since 2023 and has extensive experience in cricket writing. His work has previously appeared on platforms like OneCricket and Last Word on Sports. Beyond cricket, Mayank closely follows football as an FC Barcelona supporter, along with tennis and Olympic sports. Despite holding a degree in Business Administration, he chose to pursue a career in sports, bringing sharp analysis to his writing as someone who once played cricket.