India vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah praised Rishabh Pant, saying the wicketkeeper-batter supports his strengths and learns more about his playing style with every pass. Bumrah’s comment came after Pant hit a 28-ball 50 for India in the 2nd inning against Sri Lanka in the pink-ball test in Bengaluru.
On a field where the ball dominated the racquet, India started from captain Rohit Sharma and Hanuma Vihari. However, they lost quick wickets in the middle, but Pant took the game further away from Sri Lanka with a counterattack.
Pant hit 7 boundaries and 2 sixes when he became the fastest indian batsman to beat a test fiftyand surpassed Kapil Dev’s mark of 30-ball fifty set in 1982.
“Not everyone (can) play in the same way. Each individual has a different game plan so he played to his strengths,” said Bumrah after Day 2 in Bengaluru.
“Not every player in the team will play at the same pace, we understand that. He’s getting more and more experience and learning more about this game. That’s his plan (attacking) for the future, so it’s a positive sign for us.” said the pacemaker.
Bumrah shone with the ball in the first innings, taking 5 wickets in the first innings as Sri Lanka tied for 109 in response to India’s first innings with 252 overall. Bumrah struck early in Sri Lanka’s 2nd innings when he removed opener Lahiru Thirimanne from the lanker on 1/28. to leave in their hunt for 447.
“It feels good. When you play all three formats you have to take care of your body and sometimes you miss home tests. The team’s success is always a great feeling,” added Bumrah.
The spin-friendly lane made life difficult for the Sri Lankan batters, even as the Indians handled the hard lane with ease. When asked what the Indian made of the track, Bumrah said, “Nobody’s complaining.”
“NO ONE COMPLAINS”
“You always play in different conditions, not every wicket is the same. When there’s some help for the bowlers when you score runs on a wicket like that, it gives you a lot of confidence,” he said.
“You’re not going to get flat wickets everywhere you play, so always look forward to that challenge if it’s a challenge.
“No one complains about the wicket, yes everyone finds a way and looks forward to contributing because they know that when they are making good runs on a tough wicket and when they are on a it gives them a lot of confidence play relatively flat wicket, this will give them strength. So that’s the mood in our camp,” he said.
