"He has won matches doing this but he has been clever about it" - Dinesh Karthik reacts on Rishabh Pant's rash shot in 2nd Test
Dinesh Karthik has expressed his opinion on Indian wicketpeer Risabh Pant's reckless shot in the second innings of the second ongoing Test against South Africa.
The 36-year-old acknowledged that Pant had won several games for his country while playing similarly aggressive shots. However, he conceded that the Delhi-born keeper wasn't clever about it this time.
The wicketkeeper-batter walked out to bat at No. 6 after two quick wickets. All eyes were on the pair of him and Hanuma Vihari to extend India's lead to a significant margin. But to everyone's surprise, the Indian wicket-keeper batter decided to go after Kagiso Rabada without spending any time on the wicket. He tried a wild slog while charging down the track but ended up losing his wicket in the process.
Karthik, who reviewed the day's play with Cricbuzz, had his thoughts about the 24-year old's rash shot on Wednesday. He said a nasty bouncer from Rabada before the wicket forced the young batter to make a mistake.
Karthik also spoke about Pant's bold endeavors, combined with cleverness, which wasn't the case this time around. The Chennai-born keeper said:
"Definitely let Pant go play his way, which is fine with me. But he's somebody who's clever about it, that's what he has learned in international cricket. What I didn't like about the shot was the fact that I think the previous ball, which was an absolute snorter, dictated how he played the next ball. Which is not the Rishabh Pant we know."
He added:
"He's someone who'll live by the sword, die by the sword. He has won matches doing this but he has been clever about it. He plays a shot which within his repertoire and that what enables him to be successful. But this one was more out of a 'put the bowler on the backfoot' shot. We use this word - 'impose himself'. Whereas he is somebody who I feel assesses a situation and then attacks."
Rishabh Pant is on a poor run with the bat in Tests since the WTC final.
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Apart from his quick-fire 34 runs in the first Test, Pant hasn't contributed much with his bat for India in the ongoing series.
"I do feel that Rahul Dravid won't be too happy about it"- Dinesh Karthik on Pant's dismissal
Karthik propounded that head coach Rahul Dravid wouldn't have enjoyed watching the left-hander get out in the ugly fashion he did.
While sympathizing that the young batter would be disappointed with his shot selection, Karthik observed that the slog could've come two overs later.
"We are gonna get dismissals like that but we'd rather get that when we play 10,12, 14 balls. To do that on the third ball with the second ball being an absolute snorter. I do feel that Rahul Dravid won't be too happy about it. We know how Dravid played his cricket - guts it out, fought it out just like what Pujara Rahane did. Pant would be tad disappointed with the shot option he took," Karthik concluded.
Sunil Gavaskar slams Rishabh Pant for his shot selection.
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With the encounter being evenly poised, it would be fair to say that the Johannesburg Test has been absolutely enthralling to watch. South Africa's score at Stumps on Day 3 read 118/2.
The equation for Day 4 is uncomplicated. India need eight more wickets to seal the series. Whereas the hosts require 122 more runs to square off the three-match series.