WATCH | Sir Alastair Cook rumbles on grass to do his best 'Rishabh Pant roly-poly ramp' impression

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WATCH | Sir Alastair Cook rumbles on grass to do his best 'Rishabh Pant roly-poly ramp' impression

Scoring runs and batting are two different art forms -- some look dour as cement while piling on scores, while others seem the business even when they keep failing. Alastair Cook certainly belongs to the latter class, yet could not help himself from indulging in some Rishabh Pantesque tomfoolery.

R‌ishabh Pant enjoyed another successful tour of England in 2025 as he struck two tons and three fifties across five matches, tallying 479 runs at nearly 70 while striking at an audacious 77.63. As impressive as the numbers may be, they barely begin to describe the madness that is Pant's batting or unlock his strange methods that have resulted in such success. Such is the furor created by some Pant strokes that they remain in the cricketing consciousness way after their occurrence, ensuring his legacy lives on in tournaments where he does not even play. The Hundred is one prime example of the same where Isa Guha and Alastair Cook found themselves discussing the infamous ramp shot that Pant has mastered and the ensuing result wa brilliant.

Cook, during one of his typical breakdowns of the intricacies of batting in an interaction with Isa Guha at the sidelines of a Hundred game, got hands-on with his explanations as he shadowed strokes and techniques with a bat in hand. Enthralled by it all, Guha sensed an opportunity to make Cook do something uncharacteristic and asked the legendary batter to analyse Pant's 'roly-poly ramp'. Sporting as always, Cook explained that Pant's signature shot is essentially a variation of the paddle-sweep where he takes his body out of the line to play it fine. However, it is Pant's trademark tumble thereafter that makes the shot memorable, and Cook was sure to address it. The former opener, after shadow playing the ramp, executed an exaggerated roll-over while tongue-in-cheek stating, "On TV, I'm going to roll over, make it look glamorous, and hope it goes for four."

To Cook's credit, he was quick to take the mickey out of himself as well as he stated he was too old to be doing many more roly-polies which was enough to get a big laugh out of Guha and spectators at home.