Rishabh Pant may get out while trying to dance down the pitch and take on a steaming Kagiso Rabada at a crucial juncture of the game, but every once in a while, he tends to remind us of the genius behind his madness. When it is in full flow, as was the case on Day 3, it is breathtaking to witness.
Arriving to the crease at a delicate situation once again, Rishabh Pant didn’t take long to exert his authority and what followed was the usual pyrotechnics with a touch of measure and responsibility. He carried the batting order of the team in the second innings almost single-handedly and made batting look easy on a pitch where most seniors were struggling to survive for more than 15 balls.
Pant remained unbeaten on 100 from 139 deliveries and despite his best efforts, the tail couldn’t resist the South African onslaught as India folded for a mere 198 runs. Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir lavished praise on Rishabh Pant’s fantastic knock and called it one of the best overseas centuries scored by an Indian batter.
“I feel it is one of the best hundreds overseas by an Indian. The sort of situation that was there, it is necessary to remember that he [Pant] had come into bat when India had lost two wickets in the first two overs. It is not that he had come when a platform had been set.
“If he had gotten out there, the game might have become one-sided. So despite that, such an attacking hundred, with so much control and to play till the end and remain unbeaten – amazing knock,” said Gambhir.
Team India had just lost the wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane at rapid succession at the start of the day and the mood seemed quite jittery. Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen were breathing fire with the ball. It was at that stage, with India at 58/4 that Pant walked in and stitched a 94-run stand with captain Virat Kohli. While Kohli dropped the anchor at one end, it was Pant who took the role of aggressor.
“He [Pant] will remember this hundred for a very long time because he has scored more than 50 percent of the runs and on a wicket where every batter has struggled, from Virat Kohli, who didn’t look in that much rhythm in the second innings, to KL Rahul,” Gambhir further added.
