Rishabh Pant’s 146 on the opening day of the Test laid the foundation of India’s remarkable recovery at Edgbaston after being reduced to 98 for five. Pant felt the secret lay in his plans to “disturb the bowlers mentally”.

“In English conditions if a bowler pitches it up, it’s important to disturb his rhythm, that’s what I feel,” the 24-year-old Pant said during the media interaction on Friday.

“I don’t try to play unidimensional, rather I try out various shots — sometimes I step out, or play on the backfoot. I keep on using the crease well. It’s about disturbing the bowler mentally. It’s not pre-planned. I just focus on what the bowler is trying to do.”

Pant said he has paid equal attention to the defensive aspect of his game. “Yes, I’ve worked a lot on my defence. My coach, Tarak Sinha Sir had told me long back that you can attack any bowler but at the same time he has always stressed to focus on playing defensively.

“You can’t be defensive or attacking with each ball. I try to focus on each ball and play according to its merit. It’s a good sign to show respect to a good ball. I’m not focusing much on the defence rather I’m focused on my game.

“I might play some different shots sometimes but it’s about giving your 100 per cent. If a ball is there to be hit, I go for it.”

The flamboyant wicketkeeper-batter shared a record 222-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja after India stared down the barrel at 98 for five.

“When you lose too many wickets early, you have to give yourself more time. I just tried to stage a partnership with Jaddu bhai and not lose a wicket before tea and it worked for us. Rahul (Dravid) bhai told me that I should play one ball at a time and not focus too much on other things,” he said.