'Whether it's Brisbane or Manchester he finishes in style': India, England legends praise 'superstar' Rishabh Pant

Pant's record knock garnered immense praise form cricket legends of both India and England who hailed him for his "special" knock and called him a "superstar" as well.

Rishabh Pant's mesmerising maiden ODI century en route to his unbeaten knock of 125 runs helped India bounce back from an early top-order collapse in magnificent fashion to script a memorable five-wicket win in Manchester on Sunday. With the win, India bagged the ODI series 2-1 against England, having earlier won the series opener by an emphatic margin of 10 wickets at the Kennington Oval. Pant's record knock garnered immense praise form cricket legends of both India and England who hailed him for his "special" knock and called him a "superstar" as well.

India's Rishabh Pant celebrates reaching his century (Action Images via Reuters)

Pant had begun on a subdued note on Sunday after the top three were skittled inside the first 10 overs. But Hardik Pandya's entry in the 17th over helped Pant find his rhythm back as the pair stitched a phenomenal 133-run stand for the fifth wicket.

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Ben Stokes' superb fielding effort helped England pull one back with Hardik's dismissal for 71. India were still 55 runs away, but Pant made a mockery of the England attack as he fired five boundaries in a single over to help the visitors wrap up the chase with 7.5 overs to spare.

Speaking about Pant's knock, former England captain Naseer Hussain was all praise for the youngster, who he feels will be the “superstar of Indian cricket” in the coming years.

“Personality players say that is the way I play and can't adapt to situations. But here you have a lad with massive personality and he plays every situation perfectly, whether it is Brisbane or Edgbaston or here today. He really understands the situation and adapts to the game. And he finishes in style. He will be the superstar of Indian cricket for years to come,” he said on Sony Sports.

Meanwhile, moments after Pant had scored his maiden ODI century, another ex-England captain, Michael Vaughan, tweeted saying, "What a cricketer @RishabhPant17 is .. Incredibly entertaining but also very smart .. #ENGvIND."

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who was part of Sky Cricket's commentary panel, hailed Pant's heroics and how he has matured as a cricketer.

"He is great for the world game- he has flair and the ability to entertain people in all formats. It was a special hundred as India were down and out at one stage but this guy is a special player.

“He has realised that because of the reputation he has and the fields that are set that he has 25 runs easy before he starts his innings. With the fielders back he used to take them on straightaway but now he has the maturity to take the single, get used to the track and make up later. His cricketing intelligence [has improved],” he said.