Former Australian wicket-keeper batsman is the latest to join the Rishabh Pant fan club. Adam Gilchrist is in awe of India's young wicketkeeper, Rishabh Pant, whom he believes has a great foundation to become a successful Test cricketer.
India won the toss in the 4th test against Australia and decided to bat first. Even though India didn`t get the start they wanted as the opener KL Rahul again failed to provide a solid start to the team. After he was departed, the "2nd WALL" Cheteshwar Pujara came to the crease and from there after played a sensible knock, making a 100+ partnership with the Mayank Agarwal who is looking more comfortable against Aussie then "Railway caterers and Canteen staff". India finished on 303-4 after day 1.
Day two doesn`t start well for India as the well-set Hanuma Vihari got out after scoring 42. Rishabh pant came as the 5th down after Vihari. Earlier Pant was looking tentative after poking balls going outside off. But played a very good knock and ended up with 159* not out. He got a lot of praises from all around the cricketing world for his fierce knock.
Even as former India and Australia captains, Mohammad Azharuddin and Ricky Ponting have likened Pant to Gilchrist, the wicket-keeping great is seemingly excited at the prospect of watching Pant go about his business in the longest format of the game.
Gilchrist heaped rich praise on Pant for his unbeaten 159 that helped India set a massive first innings total of 622 for 7 declared against Australia in the ongoing fourth Test in Sydney. India has already sealed an unassailable 2-1 lead and is looking set to clinch a historic 3-1 win, their first-ever series win on Australian soil.
Pant, who made his Test debut as recently as 2018 during India's tour of England, also became the first Indian wicketkeeper to score a century in Australia when he reached the three-figure mark on Friday. Pant, with 350 runs, is now second on the list of batsmen with most runs in the ongoing series as he went past India captain Virat Kohli during his SCG masterclass.
"He played a beautiful inning... We probably all expected him to bat aggressively from ball one but he showed he can build an inning and then by the end of it allowed himself to play with all the freedom that we know he's got," Gilchrist told foxsports.com.au.
"It was entertaining. He's a cricketer that I would happily pay to watch."
Pant can develop into a really reliable wicketkeeper: Gilchrist
"Rishabh Pant batted really well but needs to improve his wicketkeeping. I was surprised that he hit only one six in his unbeaten knock. But he played very well and I feel India has found a batsman similar to Adam Gilchrist," Azharuddin.
Wriddhiman Saha, who is known for his world-class glovework, is waiting in the wings after being sidelined from the ongoing Australia series due to a shoulder injury last year.
"Although he's missed a few opportunities with the gloves, he's certainly held onto more than he's spilled. If he's prepared to work on his game, I'm sure he'll develop and become a really reliable keeper," Gilchrist said.
"He's a cricketer that is at the start of his journey so he'll learn these particular parts of the game and he'll learn that there's always more time than what you think, but he's got a great foundation to be a successful Test cricketer," he added.
"We talk about him in the commentary box and he is sort of like another Adam Gilchrist," Ricky Ponting
No comments:
Post a Comment