India v Sri Lanka: Rishabh Pant, who became a man of the series in India’s 2-0 win, admitted he had made mistakes in the past which only helped him develop as a Test cricketer.
Rishabh Pant stole the show with the bat and gloves in India’s Test series win over Sri Lanka (AFP Photo)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Rishabh Pant scored 185 runs in 2 Tests including 2 breakthrough shots
- Pant was great with the gloves on a difficult pitch in Bengaluru
- India beat Sri Lanka in the 2nd Test by 238 runs to complete the 2-0 sweep
Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant admitted on Monday he’s made some mistakes as a Test batter in the past, but he’s learned from it and is trying to improve with every match he plays. Pant won the Player of the Series award as India ended a 2-0 Test series win over Sri Lanka and won the pink ball Test in Bengaluru by 238 runs in 3 days.
Pant shone with the racquet and gloves as he hit 185 runs in 2 Tests including 2 fifties. In the first Test, Pant smashed a Quickfire 96 to change the course of the Test while hitting a 28-ball fifty in the 2nd inning of the Pink-Ball Test that helped India push their 300-plus total and a goal of 447 runs to bet for Sri Lanka.
Pant has been guilty of throwing away his wickets in the past but since last year’s tour of Australia the wicketkeeper-batter has shown controlled aggression.
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The numbers won’t lie as Pant has been India’s top run-getter in Test cricket as of early 2021. He hit 1,077 runs with an average of 43.08, hitting 2 hundreds and 7 fifties during that period. Pant hit her at a staggering rate of 71.89.
“I think both batting and wicketkeeping, you have to develop, I’ve made mistakes in the past and I want to keep improving. It’s not in my mindset, the wicket was difficult to play so I figured I’ll look for quick runs.
“I’ll do whatever team management wants me to do,” Pant said when asked about his batting position in Test cricket.
Sunday only, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah talked about how Pant Understands his strengths more and more while sticking to his naturally aggressive playing style in Test cricket.
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Pant demonstrated his improvement with glove work and the young wicketkeeper was up to the task on a difficult pitch in Bengaluru. Pant has come a long way since India chose Wriddhiman Saha on spin-friendly courts at home.
Pant was involved in 3 stumpings and 2 catches and his incredibly improved posture kept Inda from taking extras behind the stumps.
“I think it’s more about confidence. I used to think too much about what I might be missing. Now I’m focused on my process,” Pant said.
