IND vs AUS 5th Test: The ongoing fifth and final Test between India and Australia has come to a stage where anything can be possible. India will be a little bit disappointed as they lost Rishabh Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy in the final hour of the match. But the visitors have added a lead of 145, which could be substantial in the fourth innings chase.
But it wasn’t looking easy until Rishabh Pant arrived at the crease. He came out to bat when India lost Virat Kohli (6) at the score of 59. Pant jumped down the track on his very first ball and hit Scott Boland for a straight six, which cleared his intentions.
The Indian keeper carried his approach and hit boundaries and sixes to various parts of the group. He went on to hit two consecutive sixes off Mitchell Starc to complete his first fifty of this tour. He reached the landmark off just 29 balls, recording the second-fastest fifty for Team India in test cricket.
IND vs AUS 5th Test: Sunil Gavaskar lauds Rishabh Pant for his blistering fifty on Day 2 at SCG
Pant’s fifty came out when India needed runs badly and wickets were falling from other ends. He took charge and attacked the bowlers, which forced Pat Cummins to change the field. However, it was Cummins who dismissed Pant for a well-made 61 off just 33 balls, which included six fours and four sixes. But his knock has certainly put India back into the contest.
Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar, who slammed Rishabh Pant for his shot selection at the MCG and called his shotmaking “stupid,” praised the 27-year-old for his counterattacking innings. In a discussion on Star Sports, Gavaskar said that Pant’s runs made a big difference, and India can now look to stretch their lead to a challenging total.
Gavaskar said, “These are quite impactful runs (from Rishabh Pant), and he is the reason India has scored these runs because he has scored half of those runs. But the difference between the shot that Rishabh Pant played at Melbourne versus the shot that he’s played here, the difference is that the shots that he played today were in front of the wickets.”
The Indian legend also slammed other Indian batters for their shot selection. He added, “Pant planned to play straight, and he was successful in doing so. That’s his normal game, whereas our other batters did not play their normal game.” India still has four wickets left in the bank, and the last recognized batting pair is at the crease. India will love the lead near 200 and also hope that they can get fully fit Jasprit Bumrah for Day 3.
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