"I would have definitely tried to hit a four or a six" - Virender Sehwag on Rishabh Pant not trying to hit 6th boundary in David Willey's over
Virender Sehwag has acknowledged that he would have tried to hit the sixth boundary off David Willey's over if he had been in Rishabh Pant's place.
Pant smashed five boundaries off the first five deliveries of the 42nd over bowled by Willey in Sunday's (July 17) third and final ODI between Team India and England in Manchester.
However, with the Men in Blue needing fours for a win, the wicketkeeper-batter opted to take just a single off the final ball of the over. He then hit Joe Root for a four off the first delivery of the next over to seal the win.
During a post-match discussion on Sony Sports, Sehwag was asked about Rishabh Pant surprising everyone by not trying to hit a four and instead taking a single on the last ball of Willey's over. He responded:
"If he had hit a four in that over, the match would have gotten over and an extra run would not have been scored. If Rishabh Pant wanted, he could have finished it not only with a four but a six. If I was there, I would have definitely tried to hit a four or a six."
The former Indian opener was particularly delighted with Pant finally living up to expectations in ODI cricket and scoring the winning runs. Sehwag said:
"The good thing is that he only finished it, he only hit the last four to finish it. It was enjoyable to watch, we all were expecting that Rishabh Pant will play such innings in ODI cricket, he has played only 27 matches and an amazing knock like this has come in that now."
Rishabh Pant is a very rare talent. Like a diamond, he will grace the cricket world.
Pant had failed to replicate his Test success in the limited-overs formats of the game before Sunday's match. His unbeaten 125-run knock was his first century for Team India in white-ball cricket and he will hope to dish out such performances more consistently.
"I didn't expect that he will play till the end" - Virender Sehwag on Rishabh Pant
Sehwag admitted that he didn't expect Pant to close out the chase for the visitors. He observed:
"It has come at the right time when four batters from the top had been dismissed. I didn't expect that he will play till the end because a time was going to come when his back was going to be broken and it would have been broken as well when he stepped out to Moeen Ali."
The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by observing that Hardik Pandya's presence at the other end helped Pant's cause. Sehwag explained:
"After that Hardik Pandya probably controlled him as there was a period when he was between 18 to 30 runs, he could have gotten out there, but he didn't get out because Hardik Pandya released the pressure from him. Then he batted intelligently, when a batter scores 30-40 runs, his shot selection becomes better, which Rishabh Pant showed."
"72/4, pressure on Hardik and Pant."
Meanwhile @hardikpandya7 and @RishabhPant17: #ENGvIND https://t.co/LkDs5ZDNqG
Hardik joined Pant in the middle when Team India were in a spot of bother at 72/4 while chasing a 260-run target. The duo strung together a 133-run partnership for the fifth wicket before the seam-bowling all-rounder was dismissed after scoring an entertaining 71 runs off just 55 deliveries.