"He got out in the same way in the last match as well" - Mohammad Kaif criticizes Rishabh Pant's dismissal in 3rd Ind vs NZ T20I
Mohammad Kaif has criticized Rishabh Pant for repeating his mode of dismissal from the previous game in the third T20I between India and New Zealand in Napier on Tuesday, November 22.
Pant was caught at third man off Tim Southee's bowling after scoring just 11 runs. The match ended in a tie, with the Men in Blue at the DLS par score of 75/4 when rain halted their chase after nine overs of their innings.
While reviewing India's batting performance during a discussion on Prime Video, Kaif had the following to say about Pant's dismissal:
"Rishabh Pant used his feet. There was a fielder at deep third man and Sodhi grabbed it with both hands after making an easy catch look difficult. It was a bad shot because the attempt was to hit a ball outside the off-stump over point. He got out in the same way in the last match as well."
I wonder what kind of player Rishabh Pant wants to be in T20!cricket. Especially, as an opener. If he wants to slog at the top, he will sell his rare skills short.
However, Kaif was not too critical of the shot played by Ishan Kishan which led to his dismissal. The former Indian batter explained:
"He (Ishan Kishan) plays well on the leg side. It was a short boundary. The shot was not that bad but the catch went straight into the fielder's hands. Milne used the cross-seam, the ball pitched and moved away slightly, he tried to drag it from there and Chapman took a good catch."
Kishan scored 10 runs off 11 deliveries, with all his runs coming through a four and a six. He was the first Indian wicket to fall off the last ball of the second over, with Pant and Shreyas Iyer following him to the pavilion in the next over.
"The fire has spread in the jungle" - Mohammad Kaif on Shreyas Iyer's dismissal
Kaif highlighted that Shreyas' shortcomings against the short ball were exposed once again. He elaborated:
"Shreyas Iyer was dismissed off the first ball. Hard length, short ball, a slip was placed. Every bowler bowls Shreyas Iyer a bouncer. The fire has spread in the jungle, everyone knows how Iyer plays against the short ball."
Shreyas iyer and short ball beautiful love story..
Golden duck for iyer...
#NZvsIND #INDvsNZlivestreaming #AmazonPrime https://t.co/A0ck60BmKZ
Kaif concluded by picking Suryakumar Yadav's dismissal as the biggest setback for India. The cricketer-turned-commentator stated:
"The biggest wicket was Suryakumar Yadav. He gave a catch in an attempt to take a single. He scored 13 runs off 10 balls. It was the turning point of the match because the sort of rhythm Suryakumar Yadav is in, no target is big for him."
Yadav's dismissal reduced India to 60/4 after 6.3 overs and increased the DLS par score. Hardik Pandya (30 off 18) and Deepak Hooda (run-a-ball nine) remained unbeaten, with the tied result ensuring a series win for the visitors.