"You want to see players like him" - Gautam Gambhir lauds Rahul Tripathi's attacking approach

Gautam Gambhir has lauded Rahul Tripathi for following an aggressive approach at every position he has batted across teams.

Tripathi smashed 35 runs off just 16 balls to give India a flying start after Ishan Kishan's early dismissal in the third T20I against Sri Lanka in Rajkot on Saturday, January 7. Suryakumar Yadav then smoked an unbeaten 112 off just 51 balls as the Men in Blue set a mammoth 229-run target for the visitors and eventually won the match by 91 runs.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Gambhir was all praise for Tripathi, saying:

"If you talk about Rahul Tripathi, he is a player who has batted at every number for his franchise and state. He can open, play at No. 3 or in the middle order, but his approach remains the same whether he plays against the new ball or in the middle order. You want to see players like him."

However, the former Indian opener feels the Maharashtra batter might be slightly disappointed with his mode of dismissal, explaining:

"Chamika Karunaratne did not bowl too many bad deliveries but it was Rahul Tripathi's quality because of which he proved that expensive. The way Tripathi lost his wicket, he will be disappointed. The third man was up, if he had slashed hard, the ball might have gone above third man but he just guided the ball like you give catches in the slips."

Tripathi smashed Chamika Karunaratne for two consecutive sixes down the ground in the final over of the powerplay. The Sri Lankan all-rounder then bowled a short ball, which was played straight into the hands of Dilshan Madushanka at short third man by the No. 3 batter.

"10 out of 10 for temperament" - Sanjay Bangar praises Rahul Tripathi

Rahul Tripathi and Shubman Gill strung together a 49-run partnership. [P/C: BCCI]

Sanjay Bangar heaped praise on Tripathi for the temperament he showed, reasoning:

"10 out of 10 for temperament because he knew that it was a very important innings. When you come into the team as a young batter, you know that you need to make an impact in two or three innings, so that the selectors and team management have the confidence in you."

Special knock with special shots - Rahul Tripathi. https://t.co/EE45huEIJK

The former Indian batting coach highlighted that Ishan Kishan's early dismissal did not inhibit the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) player's strokeplay, elaborating:

"He played fearlessly, played for the team. India had lost the first wicket early - Ishan Kishan had gotten out - but still the shots he played against Theekshana, especially the three boundaries he hit, it shows how he thinks and he wanted to use the powerplay. The new attacking approach was spoken about a lot but he showed that by doing it."

Short but very very impactful innings from Rahul Tripathi. Can't forget this amidst the storm of Suryakumar Yadav.

#INDvSL https://t.co/cYSuiiucss

Tripathi struck five fours and two sixes during his innings. He smashed three fours in the fifth over bowled by Maheesh Theekshana and followed it with two sixes off Karunaratne before he was dismissed.