BENGALURU: After missing a ton by four runs in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Mohali, Rishabh Pant was almost in tears. In the recently concluded pink ball Test in Bengaluru, the southpaw was on the cusp of smashing the wickets after his first innings dismissal. He looked frustrated. It just goes to show how he is hungry for big runs, especially when the team has given him the licence to play his natural game at number five in the longer format. Provided he continues what he is doing in the long run, he could prove to be the game changer in the middle order, if he hasn't already.
His returns in that batting position, though just six innings, has been outstanding. He has scored 379 at an average of 75.80. What impresses most is his strike rate of 90.02, which is outstanding. It was even more astounding in his last two Tests, striking at 120.12 against the Lankans with 23 fours and six sixes in his three innings.
However, watch him bat, and a textbook coach will never ask his players to bat like the way he does. Pant belongs to a different breed. Remember his outrageous reverse four sweep against England’s James Anderson in the fourth Test at Ahmedabad last year? How many batters have done that to the English pacer? That is Pant for you. He plays some unorthodox shots, irrespective of the conditions and bowlers. “His batting is his batting,” India captain Rohit Sharma aptly described Pant’s batting on Monday. The dare element stands out. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it does not. And when it does, he can win games single-handedly even if he bats for two sessions.
Pant at five reminds one about Virender Sehwag the opener, who actually started his career in the middle-order for India. The former cricketer would set the tone for the rest of the batters, and it worked wonderfully well, helping them win series’ away from home too. The team management with Rahul Dravid as head coach, who knows Pant from his younger days, now seems to be taking the aggressive route with the 24-year-old.
“We know how he bats and as a team we just want to give him that freedom to bat in the way that he wants to bat. But also keeping in mind certain situations of the game, where the game is going, we have also conveyed that to him, but we want to stick with his gameplan as a team. It just seems to get better and get better, his gameplans,” said Rohit. “He is somebody who can change the game literally in half an hour…. 40 minutes. I think what comes with Rishabh Pant, we are ready to accept that.”
The last line from Rohit (above) must be comforting for Pant, who has at times been criticised for playing too many shots. It has not been a bed of roses for Pant, who also underwent a string of poor scores after August 2021 that read 22, 2, 1, 9, 50, 8, 34, 17, 0. But things seem to be gradually falling in the right place now.
Even his wicketkeeping skills have improved against both the spinners and pacers. The recently concluded series being a case in point with good catches and stumpings. It is also about confidence and it would not be wrong to say that his batting performance has helped him behind the wickets as well. “The most significant factor of his in this series was his keeping. His keeping was best that I have seen. He kept well when England came last year and he seems to get better every time he keeps wickets for India. And also the DRS calls, seems to be making the right calls,” said Rohit.
For Pant, from hereon, it is all about being consistent with the wicketkeeping gloves and the willow in the upcoming Test matches.