'Best I’ve ever seen in Test Cricket': AB de Villiers' ultimate praise for Indian duo

Indian players Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja have received high acclaim from former South Africa captain AB de Villiers, who dubbed their partnership as " right up their with the best-ever" he has witnessed in Test cricket. Pant and Jadeja forged a crucial 222-run partnership on Day 1 of the ongoing fifth Test against England after a shaky start from their top-order batters. De Villiers turned to Twitter to heap praise on the batting duo, saying the "counterattack partnership' from them is easily one of the best knocks he has seen in the red-ball format. 

"Haven’t been home and missed most of the Cricket action. Finished watching the highlights now. That counterattack partnership from @RishabhPant17 and @imjadeja is right up there with the best I’ve ever seen in Test Cricket!" De Villiers wrote on Twitter. 

England vs India: 5th Test

Pant and Jadeja came to bat when India were struggling at 98-5. India had already lost the likes of Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer cheaply. Pant and Jadeja together rescued India from suffering a potential batting collapse by smashing 222 runs between them. Pant led the attack against England bowlers by hitting 146 off 111 balls. Jadeja, on the other hand, played second fiddle to Pant for most of the day before ultimately finishing with a century of his own on Day 2 of the match. 

Later in the innings, Stuart Broad created an unwanted world record as he gave away 35 runs in an over against Bumrah. It was the most runs conceded in an over in the history of Test cricket. Earlier, the record was held by Robin Peterson, who had conceded 28 against West Indies. 

The amazing knocks from Pant and Jadeja helped India post a mammoth first-innings total of 416 runs. India then bowled England out for just 284 runs after Jonny Bairstow played a superb knock to reach his century. India entered the third innings of the match with a massive lead of 132 runs. James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Ben Stokes managed to take wickets of Gill, Vihari, and Kohli early on in the third innings. Pujara and Pant then steadied India's ship and finished at 125/3 at stumps on Day 3. 

The play on Day 4 has begun with Pujara and Pant resuming India's innings at their overnight scores of 50 and 30 runs, respectively. India will look to bat for at least two sessions today before attempting to bowl England out for the second time in the match.

Image: AP/BCCI