"Cannot Be One-Hundred Wonder": Manjrekar On India Star Ahead Of 2nd Test

India lost the first Test of their ongoing five-match series to England, but it had a lot of positives to take from the game; top-order batting was one of them. While the lower-order batters failed miserably during the series opener at Headingley, Leeds, the top-order just had a contrasting outing. The likes of Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a century each, while Rishabh Pant smashed tons in both innings during the game.

Former India player Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Pant will carry on his superb form to the second Test against England. He added that Rahul too has no choice but to "carry his form through the series". He shared his opinions during the 'Game Plan' show on Star Sports.

"I think he (Rishabh Pant) will (carry his form to the second game) because it seems like he enjoys batting in Test cricket. Any batter who gets two hundreds in a Test match, it takes a lot out of you mentally, not so much physically, getting a hundred in the first innings, and 48 hours later, you have the same kind of reserve to get another hundred. So that is a hallmark of an exceptional player," the former India batter said.

"Rishabh Pant enjoys Test matches. He has not got enough runs. So he is hungry. I see Pant carrying his form, but there is another senior batter in the team, who now has got no choice but to carry his form right through the series. Indian cricket needs him badly, and KL Rahul cannot be a one-hundred wonder or a one-Test-match performer," he added.

India will aim to level the series when they take on England in the second match at Edgbaston, Birmingham, starting July 2.

It will be a tough test for the Indian cricket team as its ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah is expected to miss the game as a part of workload management. The right-arm fast bowler was the lone impressive performer during India's bowling in the first Test.

To add to India's trouble, England have added right-arm pacer Jofra Archer to their squad. If he plays the Birmingham Test, the Indian batters will have to face an even better England bowling attack.

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