WTC Final: "With limited footwork, Rishabh Pant will be troubled in England sometimes" - Brad Hogg
Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg has opined that Rishabh Pant will find himself in trouble, at times, in England, owing to his limited footwork.
The Indian wicketkeeper was dismissed for just four off 22 balls on Day 2 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand in Southampton. He survived a close lbw shout against Kyle Jamieson, but perished against the same bowler, edging a full and wide delivery to slips.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Hogg stated that Rishabh Pant could find the going tougher in the upcoming Test series against England. He felt this way as the hosts have better swing bowlers than New Zealand. The former Chinaman bowler said:
“With his bat swing, his aggressive nature and limited footwork, sometimes Rishabh Pant is going to find himself in a little bit of trouble in England. He is going to have to adapt his game somehow to counter the swing, when he comes up against the likes of (Stuart) Broad and (James) Anderson, who are better swing bowlers than probably what New Zealand have. He scored 4 off 22 yesterday, and if you looked at it, with (Kyle) Jamieson bowling with that extra height and fuller length, Rishabh Pant was troubled.”
Rishabh Pant was the fifth batsman to be dismissed in India’s first innings in the WTC final. His dismissal was the second big blow for India on Day 3 after Indian captain Virat Kohli was back in the hut without adding to his overnight score of 44.
Rishabh Pant knew ball would swing, should have adjusted: Brad Hogg
Rishabh Pant has earned a lot of plaudits for his naturally aggressive game. However, according to Hogg, the conditions at Southampton for the WTC final are different and the left-hander should have made an attempt to adapt. The 50-year-old stated:
“Jamieson was coming around the wicket to him, trying to cramp him up for room. The first ball that he came over the wicket was a beautiful little in-swinger. Rishabh Pant couldn’t adjust and he was very lucky not to be given out lbw in that particular instance. It was just beautiful bowling from Jamieson, and then he popped the fuller one wide. Rishabh Pant took the bait and he was caught at slip."
"I will be looking at how he is going to adjust in English conditions moving forward. He should have adjusted. He has been there for a couple of weeks. He understood that it was going to be swinging, so he should have adjusted his game plan a little there,” Hogg added.
Starting the day at 146 for 3, India were rolled over for 217 in their first innings. Jamieson claimed a fifer, returning figures of 5-31 in 22 overs. New Zealand were resilient in their reply and progressed to 101-2 at Stumps on Day 3 of the WTC final.