melbourne
Amidst severe criticism from Rishabh Pant for his hasty shots to get out in the ongoing Boxing Day Test, former India wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel has offered a different view, saying that if one praises Pant’s overly aggressive approach, If he can, then he should not be criticized for getting out like that. On the third day of the match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, in the 56th over against Scott Boland, Pant tried to play a falling scoop shot, but the ball hit his stomach and he fell to the ground. Australian captain Pat Cummins had placed fielders in the deep at fine leg and third man in case Pant repeated that shot.
The same thing happened, Pant tried to play the same shot on the next ball, but this time the top edge went to Nathan Lyon at deep third man, as the left-handed batsman was out after scoring 28 runs off 37 balls, giving India the lead. The score read 191/5 and Australia trailed by 283 runs, although they later managed to avoid follow-on.
In his Test career, Pant has earned a reputation for scoring runs through unorthodox strokeplay, but his dismissal in Melbourne reignited the debate over whether that shot should be played given India’s conditions. . While an angry Sunil Gavaskar criticized Pant and said that he had let India down badly by losing his wicket, Parthiv had a different view, although he also said that the shot was not right according to the condition of the visiting team in the first session of the game. Was.
“There are two aspects to it – when Rishabh Pant stepped up to play explosive shots in the Adelaide Test, we were cheering for these strokes. Then we saw the reverse scoop and a few more strokes in his armoury. I believe that people who praised Rishabh Pant’s approach at that time do not have the right to criticize him for his dismissal shots, because that is the way he bats.” “Also, whenever he is out, he will look like this and there will always be questions about it. Yes, I agree that it was not a shot as per the situation, but that is how Rishabh Pant plays. We also have to see whether this approach of Pant has won India matches or how many times it has helped India get out of difficult situations in the game.”
Parthiv said on Cricbuzz, “But if he is continuously getting out like this and is causing big loss to the team, then it needs to be discussed. In today’s game, the shot was not what the situation demanded. But when you praise his approach and say that he plays differently and reverse sweeps the fast bowler and hits a four or a six, he will also get out in a similar manner and this can be assessed by looking at a larger sample size. Could.”
He also felt that there was an element of uneasiness when Pant and Ravindra Jadeja were running between the wickets during the 32-run partnership for the sixth wicket. “He will play his shots like this and if we have to criticize him for playing such shots, then we should not appreciate it if it happens in future.”
“Keeping this shot aside, there was an element of uneasiness in the running between the wickets by Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja. The confusion was evident in the near-misses in taking singles and run-outs.” He concluded, “With Australia’s fast bowlers consistently hitting their areas, certainty when rotating the strike was not intended and this led to confusion at times. “Also, the shots that Pant played were due to the line and length of the Australian bowlers, and they might have thought of troubling them and putting pressure on them.”
