Rishabh Pant makes IPL coach Ricky Ponting eat up his words, Australian has 1 word for him

One of the most successful captains for the Australian Men's cricket team and now a revolutionary coach, Ricky Ponting has not been more wrong in his professional life than he is found to be now. Since joining the Delhi Capitals side in 2018, Ponting has taken the team to their best-ever IPL ranking, including a finals appearance in the last season. His technical acumen was applauded by everyone after he correctly predicted each of Prithvi Shaw's dismissal in the Tests that he played, but it seems like Ponting may have underestimated one of his other Delhi boys - Rishabh Pant.

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India vs Australia 4th Test: Ponting impressed with Pant after Gabba heroics

Rishabh Pant has received much flak for his performances at both the IPL 2020 and the India tour of Australia 2020-21. The 23-year old has not been consistent with either bat or gloves but over the last two Tests of the series, has played knocks of great courage and character. Pant fell just three runs short of a century at the SCG - his aggressive batting took everyone by surprise and could have gone horribly wrong, but in the end, it became a huge part of the Indian-centred draw in the 3rd Test. Today, on the final day of the final Test, Pant once again made his IPL coach Ricky Ponting eat his words as he made a scintillating 89* to take India to their second Test series victory on Australian soil.

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In an awkward moment on 7cricket, Ponting seemed to sidestep a question about Pant as the camera panned to him carrying the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on the field. After a fellow commentator pointed out that it was Ponting's "mate from the Delhi Capitals holding the trophy", Ponting was quick to reply that "it's [the victory] not about him, it's about their entire group, they have been brilliant, resilient, I thought it was going to come to an end today but they proved me wrong again. Congratulations team India". Along with his critique of Pant's glovework in the previous Tests, Ponting had also predicted that India's resilience would not hold out past Day 4 on the 4th Test. But he was proven thoroughly wrong by Pant and the Indian team.

Pant and Ponting will join forces once again as Delhi try to win the IPL 2021 later this year.

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Rishabh Pant career stats

At just 23, Rishabh Pant is already starting to make a name for himself in Test cricket. He made his Test debut against England in 2018, finishing the series with a high score of 114 at the Oval. Since then, Pant has not been the most consistent player in the format leading to some questions about his long-term place in the Test side. However, views may alter a little after his heroics Down Under. At the end of the India vs Australia 4th Test, Pant's Test career stats stand at 1088 runs from 16 matches including two 100s and four 50s.

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Image credits: Virender Sehwag Twitter