"It was an extremely mature knock" - Aakash Chopra picks Rishabh Pant as his Player of the Match for the 2nd India vs West Indies T20I

Rishabh Pant scored a blazing half-century in the second T20I against the West Indies [P/C: BCCI]

Aakash Chopra has picked Rishabh Pant as his Player of the Match for the second T20I between Team India and West Indies.

Pant smashed an unbeaten 52 off just 28 deliveries when Team India were in a slight spot of bother. He also strung together a 76-run fifth-wicket partnership with Venkatesh Iyer to help the hosts set a challenging 187-run target for the Windies.

While highlighting that Bhuvneshwar Kumar was a strong contender, Aakash Chopra opted to go with Rishabh Pant as his Player of the Match. He said the following in a video shared on his YouTube channel:

"I was strongly feeling that I should go towards Bhuvneshwar Kumar because the 19th over he bowled, I thought that was game, set and match. But it is a batter's game, I am going towards Rishabh Pant. It was an extremely mature knock."

The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out the importance of Pant's knock. Chopra explained:

"The knock came in double quick speed, 28-ball 52 not out, which included seven fours and a one-handed six. India was in a dangerous situation at that time. If you had faltered even slightly, you would have reached 160-170 with great effort."

Team India were reduced to a score of 106/4 in the 14th over when Virat Kohli was dismissed. With not much batting to follow, the onus was on Pant and Iyer to take the Men In Blue to a defendable score.

"It was a risk-averse knock" - Aakash Chopra on Rishabh Pant's effort

Rishabh Pant and Venkatesh Iyer's partnership bailed India out of trouble [P/C: BCCI]

Aakash Chopra added that Team India would have struggled to reach a par score if Pant had gotten dismissed early. He elaborated:

"You could have fallen short of that as well because if he had gotten dismissed at that time, Venkatesh would have had to bat with Harshal and Deepak, and that wouldn't have been very very easy. This was a wow knock. That is why he is my Player of the Match because it was a risk-averse knock."

Rishabh Pant is adjudged Man of the Match for his brilliant knock of 52* off 28 deliveries 👏👏

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However, the 44-year-old was quick to point out that Venkatesh Iyer deserves almost similar accolades. Chopra reasoned:

"But along with him, we can include the partnership as well because Rishabh Pant couldn't have done it alone, let's be honest. Venkatesh Iyer's knock was also very important, because it was a short knock it is not remembered later but the truth is that it was absolutely incredibly important for India for these two guys to finish well."

Iyer smoked 33 runs off just 18 deliveries, including four fours and a six. The knock would have given Rohit Sharma immense confidence to persist with the batting all-rounder at the No.6 position.