Rishabh Pant silences critics by exhibiting qualities people think he didn't have
Rishabh Pant is a “fearless batsman” is the most cliched reference to a cricketer, who is a wee bit more than just being a mere “Mr. Bravado”. Yes, the six at the Gabba off Nathan Lyon was an act of daredevilry.
The same can be said of his approach to Keshav Maharaj last night, but with Rishabh, every act that seems like his 'madness' has a 'method' attached to it. And that’s what is important to understand.
Here is what he had said to me about the Lyon delivery -
“The ball that turned square and beat me was not pitched in line but outside. Now Nathan Lyon is a fantastic spinner. I tried to get an idea of what must be going through his mind. My hunch was that he would now try to pitch it in line of the stumps and get it to turn from there. So I had decided that if he tosses it up, I would step out,” he explained his thought process.
“If it's in my area, the ball should be deposited in the stands,” the gentle assassin explained his craft.
It was a sound cricketing mind talking about a picture perfect execution.
India should win the match for Rishabh Pant
That’s what happened at Newlands last night and that’s what has kept India in the game, the Dean Elgar DRS decision notwithstanding. Pant, simply put, was brilliant. He kept hitting boundaries when everyone else was struggling around him and in doing so kept India alive in the decider.
Yes, he looks bad when he plays shots like the one he did in the second Test but as long as he can play innings like the one he played in Brisbane or at the Newlands, all of India should be mighty pleased with him. Hundreds in Australia, England and South Africa is enough to tell us all that he is capable of.
And to cap off the day, Pant, who is now a mighty improved wicket-keeper, picked up a diving low catch off Elgar to mean India go into day 4 believing things can still happen for them. Well, actually, it will be a just result if the Indian bowlers come to the party one final time and do it for themselves, and also for Pant. That’s when the Pant effort will get its real value in the true sense.