Published 16:47 IST, February 2nd 2021
R Sridhar describes what qualities make Rishabh Pant 'one of the most fearless cricketers'
India's fielding coach R Sridhar has revealed what makes young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant one of the fearless players of modern-day cricket
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Team India's fielding coach R Sridhar recently revealed what makes young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant one of the most fearless players of modern-day cricket. Pant was India's saviour in the third and fourth Test matches against Australia in the recently-concluded historic Test series Down Under where he had also hit the winning runs in the series-decider at the Gabba.
'He is a great package': R Sridhar
“What you see is what you get with Rishabh. He can give you heart attacks; he can give you heartaches; he can give heartbreaks, but he can also give you moments that take your breath away,” said Sridhar while speaking on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.
“He is a great package, probably one of the most explosive cricketers and one of the most fearless cricketers going around. Plus, he is a left-hander, so that adds a lot of variation in the middle order. So, all in all, Rishabh Pant as a package is extremely exciting,” he added.
“There have been occasions on this tour where he sacrificed his batting to work an extra half an hour or one hour on his wicketkeeping. So, that’s great news for everybody who wants to know. He is a work in progress.” he further added.
Rishabh Pant's heroics with the bat Down Under
Pant got the opportunity to don the gloves in the second Test match at the MCG after veteran stumper Wriddhiman Saha had failed with both bat and the gloves in the pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval that preceded the Boxing Day Test. However, he played impactful knocks in the final two Tests at the SCG (97) and Brisbane 89*and had a lion's share in helping India retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
India had to chase a stiff total of 328 runs to register a famous win on the final day of the Brisbane Test match.
After losing Rohit Sharma early on Day 5, it seemed as if the visitors would settle for a draw. However, Shubman Gill had other ideas as he kept them in the hunt with a solid 91. Gill's batting partner Cheteshwar Pujara on the other hand made the Australian bowlers toil hard for his wicket even though they were resorting to bodyline bowling tactics.
The number three Test batsman stood tall by braving constant bouncer barrage and played an impactful knock of 56 runs from 211 deliveries and once he was dismissed, it seemed as if it would open the floodgates for the hosts. Nonetheless, Rishabh Pant had other ideas as he toyed around with the Aussies bowlers and brought India within touch distance of victory.
In the end, the young wicket-keeper batsman hit the winning runs as all the members of the Indian team ran towards the ground to celebrate. Thus, Ajinkya Rahane & Co. ended up retaining the Border Gavaskar Trophy by winning the four-match series 2-1 and India registered back-to-back Test series triumphs Down Under.
16:47 IST, February 2nd 2021