India’s former legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar reckons Rishabh Pant seems to have learned from his mistakes against South Africa after the wicket-keeper batter had a successful tour of England. Pant was getting dismissed while chasing a ball outside the off-stump in the T20I series against the Proteas in the home conditions.
The left-hander made a rollicking start to the England tour as he scored 146 and 57 in the rescheduled fifth Test match. The southpaw was then given the opportunity to open the innings in the T20I series but he could not grab his chances. Pant was dismissed on a full toss in the second ODI without troubling the scorers.
However, the attacking batter was able to finally take his chance as he scored his maiden ODI hundred in the all-important deciding match against England at Old Trafford, Manchester. The youngster scored a fine knock of 125 runs off just 113 balls to help India chase down 260 runs on Sunday.
Pant added a fine alliance of 133 runs with Hardik Pandya for the fifth wicket alliance. Thus, the duo played a key role in helping India in winning the series.
Pant did show maturity in his knock and took calculated risks in his inning. The left-hander must have grown in confidence after playing the match-winning innings. The southpaw was also awarded the Player of the Match.
Speaking to Sports Today, Sunil Gavaskar said, “Rishabh Pant seems to have learned from his mistakes against South Africa. He chased balls outside off stump to slog them over the leg side then, but the way he batted with responsibility yesterday shows how well he paced his innings.”
Gavaskar added: “The way he smashed a flurry of boundaries towards the end showed that he is someone who can absorb pressure and then attack.”
Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant hasn’t delivered the goods for the team in the T20I format. The Little Master added that Pant will deliver if the team continues to show their faith in him in the shortest format of the game.
“We will need to wait and see (whether Pant is able to replicate this form in T20Is). He might have found the right template to play white ball cricket.”
Gavaskar continued: “In T20s you have to start playing from third gear and move into fifth gear, so it is very different from ODIs. We need to be patient with Pant and realize that he will win us games when he is set, while sometimes there will be failures.”
Pant will now be seen in action in the series against the West Indies.
