“I can see a little bit of Rishabh Pant in him” - Cheteshwar Pujara’s massive praise for England star during ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

Veteran India batter Cheteshwar Pujara likened England batter Harry Brook's fearless approach to that of wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant during the first Test between the two sides at Headingley, Leeds. Both the aggressive batters left a mark in the contest with their brilliant respective knocks in the first innings on a good batting surface.

Rishabh Pant shed all of his poor form in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) to score a hundred full of flair to mark Shubman Gill's first Test as captain. The flamboyant wicket-keeper scored 134 runs off 178 deliveries, which included 12 fours and six sixes.

Harry Brook, on the other hand, survived a testing Jasprit Bumrah spell towards the end of Day 2, and went on to score freely on Day 3. The right-handed batter took down the Indian pacers, and was on the cusp of a memorable ton on his home ground, before he holed out to deep square leg on 99. He scored at a strike rate of 88.39, recording 11 fours and two sixes in the process.

Cheteshwar Pujara noted how both Pant and Brook always attempt to put the opponent under pressure.

"I can see a little bit of Rishabh Pant in him because he's stepping down, although both have different approach, but both of them are fearless. Both of them are trying to disrupt bowler's length, and they are trying to put pressure on back on the bowlers and that's why that's the key, because whenever the team is in trouble," Pujara said of the England batter on Sony Sports Network (via India Today). "Those are the guys who put pressure back on the bowlers and take the game away from you very quickly. Harry Brook is one of them who bats very quickly. His strike rate is always on the higher side, which is always difficult for the opposition team," he added.

Pant's heroics helped India post 471 in the first innings, while Brook's knock played a huge part in England inching closer to the 400-run mark, and subsequently negating the visitors' lead.

"He was pretty gutted to get out" - England vice-captain Ollie Pope on Harry Brook missing out on a hundred in ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

England batter Ollie Pope heaped praise on his teammate's fine knock on Day 3 of the series opener. He highlighted Brook's aggression and intent, even noting the imperious six he had scored off Prasidh Krishna in the very first over of the first session.

“He was pretty gutted to get out. I think he’d either like to keep it down or hit it for six next time; he was as frustrated as anyone to get out but he plays that shot pretty well. It was an unbelievable knock. Even the pull shot he hit in the first over of the day, I was like ‘where did that come from? “His ability to flip a game – if he batted for another hour, we could have been in an amazing position, it shows the skill and power he has," Pope said during the post-day press conference (via The Independent)

England were bowled out for 465 in their first innings. At their second time of asking, Team India posted 90-2 in the final session of Day 3, with KL Rahul and Shubman Gill unbeaten at the crease.

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Edited by Gokul Nair