Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar lauded Rishabh Pant after he scored a fine fifty in the warm-up match against Bangladesh on Saturday before the T20 World Cup. Pant, who batted at number three, scored a brilliant knock of 53 runs off just 32 balls at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York.
It wasn’t the easiest of pitches to bat on but Pant proved his mettle. The left-hander scored four fours and as many sixes and he was India’s best batter. His knock also helped India in putting a par score of 182 runs on the board, and the Rohit Sharma-led team went on to win by 60 runs.
Pant has been in fine form as he delivered for Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2024.The southpaw scored 446 runs in 13 matches at an average of 40.55 and a strike rate of 155.40. The left-hander batted at his best in the recently concluded season and he is going to hold the key in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
“The pitch was slightly difficult when he came to bat. We saw Sanju Samson getting out after scoring only one run off six balls. After that, he (Pant) came and his specialty is that he is extremely street-smart and assesses very quickly what needs to be done,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on Star Sports.
“He is a batter who scored runs at a strike rate of almost 200 on a difficult pitch. This is Rishabh Pant’s specialty. His record in T20Is is very ordinary, an average close to 20 and a strike rate of 120 or lower, but we saw today what this guy can do,” the former India batter added.
On the other hand, former Indian batter Sanjay Bangar noted that Pant gave himself time at the start of his innings.
“Everyone will talk about the four fours and four sixes he hit but he scored only one run off his first six or seven deliveries. So the best thing was that he gave himself time, especially against the spinners. We have the notion that he plays a lot of shots against spinners,” he said.
“Actually, his best shots are against the pacers and he gets out many times against spinners. Today he batted well against both pacers and spinners. So I feel a stability has come into his mind considering the way he batted,” Bangar observed.
On the other hand, Sanju Samson was dismissed after scoring a solitary run and thus Pant has put himself in front as far as wicket-keeper is concerned. India will begin their campaign against Ireland on June 5th.
