In the fifth and final Test match in Sydney, India chose to bat first and was bowled out for just 185, causing yet another collapse in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25. India has just twice reached the 300-run milestone in the series due to their ongoing batting difficulties.
With Rishabh Pant looking excellent, India had a chance to put up a competitive score on the opening day of the New Year’s Test, even though the most of the batters had trouble. Scott Boland dismissed him for 40 off 98 after he was unable to turn his innings into a larger one.
Throughout the series, there have been doubts about Pant’s batting strategy and style, particularly in light of his unsuccessful attempts to play aggressive strokes during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, which ultimately altered the course of the match. Pant talked about his battle in Sydney, where he appeared calm and patient all the way up to his dismissal.
Because of the scenario we were in and the wicket’s excessive activity, I don’t think I was in the right frame of mind to take control of the game during this innings. Instead, I felt like I could play a little defensive cricket while we were inside. Indeed, there are times when attacking is appropriate, but you must sense that from within. “I can’t just pre-meditate that I’m going to play this way,” Pant told reporters following the conclusion of the day’s play. “I try to do whatever the game asked me to do on that particular day.”
Pant responded, “I think it’s a little bit, [but] not very difficult,” when asked if he found it challenging to switch to the defensive game by limiting his natural methods. Yes, the first portion would be really challenging because, although you can strike a ball when it is in sight, there are instances when you need to play more logical cricket, in my opinion. I could have taken a 50/50 chance early in this innings, but sometimes you have to play more secure cricket, especially with the way [SCG] wicket was acting.
We knew that if we took another wicket here, we might lose two or three in a short period of time, so that was the motivation behind my play, and since there wasn’t much to do in the last game given the kind of target we had, I believe I had to play that [defensively], so I’m happy with the way I’m playing.”
“I believe that you primarily want to support your gaming style, but you must eventually continue to improve. There is, in my opinion, no one right method to play cricket; whatever comes more naturally is always preferable. However, you have to strike a balance between playing aggressively and maintaining equilibrium when you make all those shots, which is what I’m attempting to accomplish.
“Just trying to make most out of whatever the way I’m playing and just keep it simple not to overthink because you know when you’re not having best of the tours you might overthink too much but I just try to keep it simple and give my 200% on the pitch and that’s the idea about playing cricket for me,” he stated.
Comparison of Rishabh Pant’s 2020–21 and 2024–25 performances
The current trip has been very lacklustre for Pant, who has only made 194 runs at an average of 24.25, with the 40-run knock in Sydney being his highest score. This is in contrast to the previous tour in Australia in 2020–21. This performance stands in sharp contrast to his previous visit, when he amassed 274 runs at an impressive average of 68.50 in five innings, including a historic 89 at the Gabba in India’s series-winning victory, making him the team’s top run scorer.
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