Star Metro - England captain Stokes relishing Pant battle in India series

Pant became only the second wicketkeeper in Test history to score hundreds in both innings of a match against England at Headingley, although his heroics were unable to prevent a five-wicket defeat last week that left the hosts 1-0 up in a five-match contest.

The 27-year-old Pant made his intentions clear when he charged down the pitch to just the second ball he faced in Leeds and straight drove Stokes for four -- a shot that brought an admiring grin from the England skipper.

Stokes, well capable of aggressive batting himself, expects more fireworks from Pant, even if he hopes to limit the Indian's runs after scores of 134 and 118.

"Even though he's my opposition, I absolutely love watching Rishabh play cricket," Stokes told reporters in a pre-match press conference on the eve of the second Test at Edgbaston starting Wednesday.

"I love the way he takes it on in all formats of the game. He's got a bit of stick in his time, but that type of talent, when you let that type of talent be free, that's what happened last week.

"When you look back on last week and credit to him, two hundreds in the game, we know we're going to get our chances with the way that Rishabh plays. On a different day, it could have looked a little bit different if one of those had gone straight to hand.

"He's a very dangerous player. We know what he brings to the Indian team, but I really enjoy watching Rishabh play cricket."

Stokes, asked if he was prepared for more of the same in Birmingham, replied: "I don't think there's going to be much change in the way that Rishabh takes it on."

- 'More pressure on India' -

A relatively youthful India team, with new captain Shubman Gill leading from the front with a century, were competitive for much of the time at Headingley in a match England won after pulling off the tenth-highest chase in Test history by scoring 371.

But batting collapses of 7-41, after they had been 430-3, and 6-31, from 333-4, proved costly for India in Leeds.

"They are a good team," said Stokes on Tuesday. "They always fight hard, come hard, a very passionate team."

No cricket team faces such intense scrutiny as India, who have now lost seven of their 11 Tests under coach Gautam Gambhir, given the mass enthusiasm for the sport in the world's most populous nation.

"I think it's pretty clear that there's always pressure on the shoulders of international sportsmen," said Stokes. "But playing for India, especially in cricket, there's probably a bit more of it than any other nation. But we don't take anything for granted from last week.

"We tried to put in a performance there (Headingley). Hopefully, we can put one in here that take us to 2-0 this week."

P.Graham--SMC