Birmingham: If there was a moment for Rishabh Pant to shine-it was on Tuesday.
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul gave India a bludgeoning start. And after the two were dismissed, it was skipper Virat Kohli and India’s new-found paladin at No 4. Rishabh Pant shared a brief six over partnership with Virat Kohli.
With Bangladesh’s World Cup 2019 hopes contingent on victory, Mustafizur took out Kohli and Hardik Pandya in the space of three deliveries, and bowled a wicket-maiden. With India 237 for 4 now, Bangladesh would have felt they had snatched momentum back.
But they had not got past Pant. He now faced Mohammad Saifuddin, who, too, was coming back for his second spell. Staying true to his game, Pant smacked Saifuddin for a cover drive, pull and a square drive in space of four balls. None of it was down to ordinary bowling, it was just the augmentation of the natural talent that the 21-year old wicket-keeper batsman possesses.
Crude start
On Sunday, against England, on World Cup debut, Pant was keen. Too keen perhaps, as he nearly caused a run out twice in the first few deliveries he faced. At the change of overs, Rohit Sharma, his batting partner and vice-captain, almost hugged Pant to steady the 21-year-old’s nerves. A little later, going for an expansive lofted pull, Pant lost his grip on the bat, and it flew high over his head, falling almost at the feet of Jos Buttler, who was standing deep.
On Sunday against England, India had someone who might have cemented the slot a long while back but was kept on the sidelines by lack of opportunities. Pant’s 29-ball 32 against England showed he was not the right choice for the moment, not because he lacked skills but because such moments had been continuously snatched from him in the build-up to the World Cup. However, he stuck to his game-and made a quickfire 48 of 41 balls to negate the Bangladesh bowlers.
Natural habitat
In his two-year-old India career, Pant has batted five times for India in ODIs. Before the England World Cup encounter, he had batted only four times. At 146/2, with Kohli back in the hut, Pant walked in to bat for India, for the fifth time in his career, first time at a World Cup stage. Against one of the best bowling sides in world cricket.
This was the moment when Kohli and Rohit had taken their time to settle in on a pitch that was getting slower after every two overs and now wanted to launch the attack. Right then, Kohli lost his wicket. Pant did not have enough time to settle down. He had to start his strokeplay sooner than later and he did. But ball after ball, his shots either went to the fielders, or he completely missed his connections.
Outfielder
The need of the hour for Pant is to be an outfielder for the remaining three fixtures in the World Cup. He thus, needs to work a lot to better his throwing technique. India’s fielding coach R Sridhar said that not only does Pant need to improve his throwing technique but he will also have to be more athletic in the outfield. Sridhar admitted that as far as fielding in the outfield was concerned, Pant was still a work in progress.
“A lot of work has to go into him (Pant). First of all, he needs to improve his technique in throwing and also needs to be a little more athletic to be an outfielder,” Sridhar said at the mixed zone after India posted a 28-run win over Bangladesh here on Tuesday to make it to the World Cup 2019 semi-finals.
Skipper Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni have identified a few specific fielding positions in the deep for Pant.
“We have to use him in appropriate (fielding) positions, that is what Virat and MS are keen on. Keep him at the right places at the right time. In the last game (vs England), he saved at least five runs which is a huge bonus. He took a catch as well,” Sridhar said.
As per Sridhar’s assessment, veteran Dinesh Karthik is a better outfielder compared to the young Pant.
All said and done, Pant has impressed in his two outings staying true to his game, which is compelling. And although, Rohit took all the plaudits for his magnificent ton, Pant raised a few cheers!
