Rishabh Pant emerged as one of the few positives India’s 0-3 drubbing at the hands of New Zealand on Sunday in Mumbai. While Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma failed with the bat, the likes of Shubman Gill, Sarfaraz Khan and Yashasvi Jaiswal contributed in patches. Pant, playing just his second Test series following his horrific car accident in December 2022, was India’s only consistent performer in the series with three half-centuries including a 99 in the second game. He was also India’s top run-getter in the series with 261 runs.
In Mumbai, Pant seemed to be the backbone of the Indian batting line-up. If his 60 and a 96-run stand with Shubman Gill helped India go past New Zealand’s first innings total of 235, it was Pant who kept India alive in the chase of 148 after the top five were back in the hut with just 29 runs on board on the first session of third day’s play.
However, a controversial DRS ended Pant’s stay in the crease after a 57-ball 64. Despite India’s loss, fans hailed Pant for his heroics in Mumbai. “Rishabh Pant’s consistency needs to be praised a lot more. Despite his high-risk high-reward approach, the way he’s consistently churned out runs (and mostly in adverse conditions) is unbelievable.
“On his way to become a genuine all-time great in Test cricket as a pure batter,” wrote one user. “Any fanbase who will troll Rishabh Pant from should be termed shameless and coward. Since his debut 2018, this guy has saved the backbone of ICT in tests more than Kohli and Rohit. He is the only consistent performer for India in all three WTC cycles. THE GREATEST INDIAN WK BATSMAN IN TEST CRICKET,” another wrote.
Formers praise Rishabh Pant
Impressed by Pant’s innings on Sunday, former India head coach Ravi Shastri on air said, “this half century is worth a hundred.” Former India cricketers Irfan Pathan and Mohammad Kaif too praised Pant.
“Brilliantly inning By @RishabhPant17 his fearless approach puts any team in the world on the backfoot,” Pathan posted on X. “Rishabh Pant stands out in a close match again. His low back lift and great foot work works wonderfully on spinning track. And, of course, his never say die attitude. Big match player,” said Kaif.
