Rishabh Pant’s innings were one to remember, as every ball from him seemed calculated to excite the crowd, and his comeback to competitive cricket was so emotional. It was quite something special to watch seamers try their hardest to hit spinners while eagerly running down to rush them down the track.
Attempting to run Harpreet Brar out with the first ball, he collapsed his right knee in an unsuccessful effort and failed to make contact. Crossing over with a smile, he quickly dipped it over midwicket by the boundary for a single. Only once the third was bowled did the fun begin!
Brar may have anticipated Pant’s arrival and reduced the ball to a lower distance as he made his way down the track. Yet, Pant made the necessary adjustment by withdrawing his bottom hand from its handle, then using one hand to flick away from him to the other side with one swipe. He did this frequently throughout his innings.
In subsequent overs, when Pant attempted to strike against leg spinner Rahul Chahar’s bowler delivery length changed too early, consequently hitting off Pant’s body after missing the bat.
Do you think Pant will change his strategy? Not likely. Chahar delivered a shorter skidding ball, and Pant executed his signature on-side walloping swat. This technique uses wrist power rather than pulling, flat-batting, or thumping, similar to Kohli’s swat-flick and Dhoni’s helicopter swirl.
Pant extended his arm above his head in celebration; unfortunately, Harshal Patel, who was rushing left at deep midwicket, made a mistake with his catch, and it escaped beyond boundary bounds; there was confusion as to whether the crowd was celebrating or reacting negatively towards what happened next.
After receiving his twelfth ball, Pant decided not to attempt anything. Instead, he responded directly to what Patel was throwing at him, producing a magnificent cover drive off Patel that allowed Pant to maintain his position despite all odds. One can only speculate as to his level of contentment at seeing such an unbelievable hit come off his bat…and there is no need for speculation regarding the applause from the crowd!
However, his plan was only successful on one delivery. Following that, the striker continued his run down the pitch, using his outside leg to drive Patel for another run or two.
Pant’s joy was quickly put to an end by Patel’s slower short ball used strategically against India in previous matches; Pant reacted as though it were just any standard short ball from him and responded as though it were fast.
Due to Patel’s lack of speed, however, his effort at entering the Indian team proved successful; his ball became excessively slow, forcing Pant back onto his heels before trying to uppercut it unsuccessfully.
Pant lifted his bat, but just when it looked as though he might smash it against his pads in a show of displeasure, he relaxed, allowed his hands to pass more gently, and quickly pulled himself out of that feeling. Pant has stated that he will try to enjoy every second inning without worrying about being dismissed when returning to the field.
At first, Pant was keeping busy as captain of his wicketkeeping team. Within several deliveries from Ishant Sharma, he became aware that the ball was moving quickly; upon this realization, he immediately communicated it to one of his squad members and decided that the slip should continue being used until further notice.
Unfortunately, Sumit Kumar’s medium-pace bowler, Jitesh Sharma, missed him when standing up against Sumit, and Jitesh’s rear foot scurried back and stepped on Pant, resulting in him being stumped despite quickly down his leg but being less accurate at collecting it correctly, costing him his wicket.
Pant had another opportunity in the thirteenth over when Jitesh failed to reverse sweep a ball bowled by Kuldeep Yadav outside-off ball that came towards him outside-off ball that came towards outside-off, bowled outside-off. Pant made no errors this time as he swiftly removed the bail and alerted the square-leg umpire that Jitesh had removed his rear leg from the crease in an attempt to maintain balance; as he approached the bowler with a broad smile on his face, he seemed content; yet Sam Curran and then Liam Livingstone would eventually turn things against him yet again.
Using a loud and passionate voice, Pant immediately addressed his team huddle once he caught Shashank Singh in the 19th over. Although his words weren’t helpful – David Warner lost a dolly off the next ball; Sumit Kumar would start the final over with two wides and then serve a length ball that Livingstone hit into the long-on stands – when his glove would come flying out of his pocket, ruffle his hair, and return into his cabinet – Pant would quickly follow suit before returning into his cabinet – only this time with his glove out and hair ruffled back in to return.
