Rishabh Pant played one of the most memorable knocks of his career, keeping India in the hunt for a victory in the Sydney Test until he was dismissed for 97. Pant has been subjected to extreme criticism over his place in the team, especially with regards to his wicket-keeping skills. To those who still remain sceptical of his playing style, former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir has a stern message.
Pant’s shot selection has been a subject of debates for long, no matter which format. Against Australia in the second innings, the southpaw scored 97 run in just 118 balls. With 3 sixes and 12 fours to his name, Pant took on Aussie bowlers to give India a fair shot at victory. Had it not been for injuries to Hanuma Vihari and Ravindra Jadeja, India would’ve been on course to make it 2-1 in the series.
“Rishabh Pant batted really well. Obviously, he batted the way he should’ve batted and he backed his strengths and he lived by the sword and you die by it. Yes, people might just say that there was no need to play that shot, but he kept playing and kept India in the game. Had he batted a bit more longer India could have actually gone on to win the Test match, which probably would have been the most historic win ever,” Gambhir said on Star Sports’ Cricket Connected show.
Cheteshwar Pujara, despite holding the reputation of being one of the finest Test cricketers in world cricket at present, has been criticized for his scoring rate. Many have targeted Pujara for ‘lacking intent’, but Gambhir doesn’t have anything but praise for the veteran batsman.
“When we talk about Cheteshwar Pujara, you can talk as much as you can and as much as you want about his strike-rate, but there are very few batters going around in world cricket who can actually play time and session and he’s one of them. One might just think that you are only been able to draw the Test match, but these kind of draws are probably as big as winning in Australia,” Gambhir said.
