From cheers to jeers to cheers again, Rishabh Pant’s young career has been as interesting as his batting.
The wicketkeeper-batsman has had a stunning metamorphosis in the last three-odd months, his meticulously planned hundred at the Motera, in India’s first innings of the final Test against England, giving a further lift to his soaring graph.
It’s a continuation of a cluster of good scores — a fighting 97 in Sydney, a heroic and match-winning not out at the Gabba, a counterattacking 91 in Chennai and fluent 58 not out at the same venue in the following Test.
Just a few months back, after a patchy IPL 2020, he was considered not good enough for even India’s white-ball squad in Australia.
When he walked in to bat on Friday, India had lost the cream of their batting and were struggling at 80/4, still 125 runs behind England’s total. When Pant left the crease, his team was 54 ahead of the visitors’ score. In between, the world, and the helpless English cricketers, watched a young man masterfully marry caution and aggression to deliver an innings that could be played on loop to tutor what modern-day Test batsmanship is all about.
Pant’s first fifty runs came off 82 balls and the second off just 33. If Test match batting was like driving a fine car, Pant seemed a seasoned driver, changing gears to perfection.
That he brought about his first Test hundred on home soil with a six and perished soon after trying to go for another big heave was typically Pant.
“If the bowlers are bowling well, respect it and take the singles, and that was on my mind. I like to play the situation and I just see the ball and react — that’s the USP of my game,” he said after the day’s play. “The plan was just to build a partnership when I joined Rohit, that was the only thing on my mind. I was thinking I would assess the pitch and then play my shots,” Pant added.
His 101 off 118 balls had 13 fours and two sixes, but none were as stunning as the reverse ramp shot he played off James Anderson, one that former India opener Akash Chopra called the “Shot of 2021” on Twitter. The ripe old Anderson, who has been bowling beautifully, had the second new ball in his hand, but that didn’t matter to Pant, who, with a swift change of his bat face, flicked the master pacer over a bamboozled slip cordon for four runs. That audacity too was typical of Pant.
“You have to premeditate reverse-flicks, but if luck is going your way you can take the odd chance. I like to make the team win and if the crowd is entertained by that, I’m happy,” Pant said, explaining his game plan behind the shot.
But Pant can afford a bit of such audacity. For he has climbed the mountain from its steepest side.
Born in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, Pant had to travel all the way to Delhi for his cricket classes, often taking a 2am bus even in the coldest winter months for a six-hour journey. When there was a camp for a longer period, he, along with his mother, would make a gurdwara his home. It hasn’t been an easy journey.
Success came early to Pant. He made his India debut at 19 and later got a hundred at The Oval on Test debut. He got runs in Australia too, making him a darling of Indian fans. But then came the slip in form. There was a time when he was heckled with “Dhoni, Dhoni” chants every time he faltered on the field, Ravi Shastri spoke of giving him a “rap on the knuckles” for the way he was getting dismissed, while India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour asked him to understand the difference between “careless cricket and fearless cricket”.
But that’s past. The present is showering accolades on him.
“How good is he? Unbelievable.. what a knock under pressure...not the first time and won’t be the last time.. will be an all time great in all formats in the years to come. keep batting in this aggressive manner. thats why will be match winner and special,” wrote Sourav Ganguly on Twitter.
“Unbelievable belief and grit – and reading of the game. @RishabhPant17 is just
wow,” tweeted VVS Laxman. Krishnamachari Srikkanth says he has “never seen such destruction by a keeper since Gilly”. Even Michael Vaughan was impressed. “This is the way to Bat in Test Cricket,” he tweeted.
On Friday, Rohit Sharma was asked if Pant can fill the void left by MS Dhoni. “He’s more than ready,” Rohit replied. That’s the kind of confidence that Pant evokes nowadays.
