“Finally, he has found a way to get out!” these were the words that came out of the commentator Simon Doull’s mouth after Rishabh Pant once again failed to live up to the expectations of the Indian cricket fans placed upon his shoulders in the ongoing second Test match at Hagley Oval, Christchurch.
Once again Rishabh Pant has found himself at the receiving end of criticism and trolling after he failed to perform in the must-win second test match against New Zealand.
Coming out to bat at a crucial time when all the top and middle-order batsmen had already collapsed, Rishabh Pant played the most uncomfortable 14 balls and was dismissed after scoring only 12 runs.
In the first Test match also, Rishabh Pant was picked in the playing XI over Wriddhiman Saha as India’s first choice for the wicket-keeper batsman. However, Rishabh Pant couldn’t live up to the expectations of fans. Explaining the reason behind his inclusion in the team, Ravi Shastri had said:
“We went for (Wriddhiman) Saha in India because there would be a lot of spin, and on turning tracks where bounce could be uneven, you need an experienced keeper and Saha is, to be honest, one of the best around, But when you come here, there is not much of spin bowling. Emphasis is on fast bowling and then the batting becomes a key factor.”
He added:
“Plus the fact that he (Pant) is a left-hander, and an aggressive batsman lower down the order. That tilted the scales in his favour here,”
However, the fans aren’t convinced with his explanation and with the performance of Rishabh Pant and as soon as his short knock came to an end, disappointed Indian cricket fans had flooded the social media with their reactions to his performance. Disappointed fans just can’t stop trolling Rishabh Pant for his debacle and are asking for his exclusion from the team.
Here, check out the reactions of Twitterati on this:
I totally agree with leaving Rishabh Pant alone! Far away from the team alone! #RishabhPant #IndvNZ
— Gautam Govitrikar DMD (@Gautaamm) February 29, 2020
If you drop my catches, I’ll get myself out! -Rishabh pant #NZvsIND #rishabhpant ??
— Mehul Chaturvedi ?? (@im_mehul) February 29, 2020
Shami / Bumrah played better than Pant! #RishabhPant #INDvNZ #NZvsIND #India #NZ #INDvsNZTestCricket
— Kutta_kahika (@rsrinivas54) February 29, 2020
There goes the Panauti Rishabh Pant.????Pata nahi kab ise Team se Bahar karenge. #IndVsNZ #rishabhpant
— ??? Stylish S ??? (@JCBwaliLadki) February 29, 2020
https://twitter.com/TheLalaJi/status/1233611490910826498?s=20
https://twitter.com/edwinthegreat22/status/1233611878972231680?s=20
#RaviShastri on why Pant preferred over Saha : When you come here, there is not much of spin bowling. Emphasis is on fast bowling & then the batting becomes a key factor. Pant is a LHB & an aggressive batsman down the order.#RishabhPant comes at 194/5, gets 2 lives & goes for 12
— Ansuman Rath ?? (@_AnsumanRath) February 29, 2020
https://twitter.com/FarziCricketer/status/1233610656215109633?s=20
https://twitter.com/FarziCricketer/status/1233609919535796224?s=20
But But if Kohli give chances to Pant he will score 500 runs in one test … pic.twitter.com/GOphQfMMfx
— Sai (@akakrcb6) February 29, 2020
