Former India batsman Gautam Gambhir compared the impact of Rishabh Pant’s 90s to MS Dhoni’s 91 in the World Cup final.
Rishabh Pant was dismissed for 96 on Day 1 of the Mohali Test; this was his fifth dismissal in the 90s in Test cricket. However, Gambhir stressed the “smart cricket” Pant played, showing maturity and game awareness that the youngster showed during his innings.
India were in a pickle at 228-5, but Pant ensured that India ended up in a commanding position on Day 1. The left-hander played sedately – by his standards – for more than half of his innings; he reached his fifty 73 balls, and then went ballistic, especially targetting the Lankan spinners – Lasith Embuldeniya, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka. Pant rumbled from 50 to 96 in just 19 balls but missed out on what would have been his fifth Test century.
Speaking with Star Sports, Gautam Gambhir said, “What mattered to me was the manner in which he played the second phase of his knock. That is what you call smart cricket. He knew that there weren’t many overs left for the new ball to be introduced. And their premier fast bowler was injured then. That is why he chose to attack the left-arm spinner and the off spinner because Karunaratne wouldn’t have brought his fast bowlers then.
“So that was smart cricket for me because he assessed the conditions and made most of the opportunity to put India in dominant position. So those second half of his knock was very important to me.”
Pant has once again failed to go past the three-figure mark, getting out in the nervous nineties for the fifth time. However, Gautam Gambhir reckoned that the nineties – of Pant and Dhoni – have helped India win games and tournaments.
“The stats that you showed right now, it shows that centuries give you headlines, 90s give you tournament or series win. Because those 90s helped you in Sydney and Brisbane and helped you in winning the series. And this same 90 that helped MS Dhoni win the World Cup,” he said.
India completed Sri Lanka’s annihilation within three days. Ravindra Jadeja was deservedly the Player of the Match for his 175* and 9 wickets in the game. The second Test match, which will be a day-night affair to be played with the pink ball, starts on Saturday at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.
