Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has urged Rishabh Pant to be more consistent with the bat in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series against Australia. Pant has got off to starts in almost all the innings but he is yet to get a big score under his belt in the first two Test matches of the series.
The left-hander returned with scores of 21 and 28 in the second pink-ball Test at Adelaide, which India lost by 10 wickets. Pant had registered scores of 37 and 1 in the opening Test match at Perth.
Meanwhile, it is well known that Pant has a fantastic record against Australia. Before the ongoing Test series, Pant had scored 624 runs in seven Test matches against the Aussies at an impressive average of 62.4.
The Turbanator recalled how Pant had played a match-winning knock of 89 runs in the Gabba Test on the 2020-21 tour alongside Shubman Gill, who had also scored 91 runs while opening the innings.
“You definitely expect that from him. It’s not that Rishabh Pant has come to Australia for the first time, and no one knows what he would do. He is known for knocks like the one he played in Brisbane (in the 2020-21 BGT), and today also that match is remembered for Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill, who were youngsters, winning us that match,” Harbhajan Singh said on Star Sports show Game Plan.
“It was a historic match but more consistency is required from him. He needs to apply himself a little more. It’s okay that he plays the scoop and reverse sweep, but I feel when the situation and team need him to play solidly, he has to show that, and then only the consistency would come,” the former India spinner added.
On the other hand, former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar noted that Pant decided to take an aggressive approach in the second innings of the second Test, knowing India was in a precarious situation.
“I don’t think he will play like that at least until he gets set. Here (in Adelaide), he got in to play in the second innings knowing that the situation looked pretty hopeless, and so he decided that he was going to take the bull by the horns,” he responded.
Gavaskar observed that Pant’s aggressive approach forced Scott Boland to alter his length.
“That was the attempt that he made, and he actually threw the Australians off for that little period in the evening on Day 2 when suddenly Boland, who was looking so good, was made to change his line and length. That is what Rishabh Pant does,” Gavaskar observed.
The third Test match between India and Australia will be played at the Gabba, Brisbane from December 14.
