Picture Credit: Twitter
Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has expressed that Rishabh Pant has improved from his mistakes as he played without throwing caution to the wind against England in the third ODI match at Old Trafford, Manchester. The Delhi-based batter smashed his maiden ODI century and remained not out at 125 to help India win the three-match series 2-1.
Pant came in to bat win the Men in Blue were batting at the score of 38-3 and was soon joined in by Hardik Pandya when victory was still 188 runs away. The duo stomped their authority and stitched up a crucial 133-run partnership to take India over the finish line.
He is someone who can absorb pressure and then attack: Gavaskar
While speaking to a sports website, Sunil Gavaskar said, “Rishabh Pant seems to have learned from his mistakes against South Africa. He chased balls outside off stump to slog them over the leg side then, but the way he batted with responsibility yesterday shows how well he paced his innings.”
Sunil Gavaskar then addressed how Rishabh Pant counter-attacked with boundaries against pressure towards the end. “The way he smashed a flurry of boundaries towards the end showed that he is someone who can absorb pressure and then attack," he added. “We will need to wait and see (whether Pant is able to replicate this form in T20Is). He might have found the right template to play white ball cricket," he continued.
While sometimes there will be failures: Gavaskar
He additionally highlighted that the batting approach in 20-over and 50-over cricket is different and everyone must be patient with the keeper-batter as his methods will not be fruitful on every occasion. “In T20s you have to start playing from third gear and move into fifth gear, so it is very different from ODIs,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
“We need to be patient with Pant and realize that he will win us games when he is set, while sometimes there will be failures. We shouldn’t forget that he made his Test debut just four years ago. He is just 23 [24] and in that age, there is a bit of adrenaline rush that tends the batters to play rash shots," he concluded.