Former India opener Gautam Gambhir came down hardly on Rishabh Pant following the youngster’s dismissal during India’s second innings on Day 3 of the second Test in Johannesburg.
Pant was dismissed for a 3-ball duck. But it was the mode of his wicket that has irked Gambhir and fans alike. After facing just two balls, the southpaw charged down to a steaming in Kagiso Rabada, who had already nipped out two set batters, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.
Pant had a wild slash at the delivery that was angled away from him, looking for the off-side fence. However, he could only manage an edge through to the wicketkeeper. Pant’s wicket came just after he had been sledged by Rassie van der Dussen, who was fielding at short leg.
Speaking about Pant’s horror shot, Gautam Gambhir said that while the sledging from van der Dussen is fine, Pant’s shot isn’t – especially considering the fragile situation Team India had been at that moment following wickets of Pujara and Rahane. The former opener reckoned Pant’s shot selection was sheer “stupidity”.
“I like it (the sledging). Humans play cricket, so obviously there will be emotions. It isn’t even a sledge. Such things happen. They aren’t robots, they can’t just bowl and field and come back. But Test cricket is all about how you react to it and absorb the pressure,” Gautam Gambhir told Star Sports.
“There wouldn’t have been much criticism if he played the same shot in one-day cricket. But given the situation of the game, to play a shot like this… I’ve always believed that there is a very thin line between bravery and stupidity. You can’t call this bravery, it’s stupidity,” he added.
The commentator asserted that the 24-year-old has gained plenty of experience now in Test cricket, and should learn to absorb pressure rather than trying to hit his way out in difficult situation.
“Even if you had scored a 25-30 from here and set a 230-240 run-target for South Africa, this game would’ve been out of their reach. Why do you want to bring South Africa back in the game? You’ve played in Test cricket for so long, you should know how to absorb such pressure,” the former KKR captain reflected further.
India handed South Africa a target of 240 runs, of which they have cut down 118 by the end of Day 3 for the loss of 2 wickets.
