For his outstanding performance in the first Test match at Headingley, Leeds, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant received acclaim from former South African great AB de Villiers. Even though India lost the match to England by five wickets on the last day, Pant scored hundreds in both innings.
Rishabh Pant audacious strategy is paying off, according to De Villiers, who also said that his twin hundreds have dispelled any scepticism regarding his form. Pant persevered and became just the second wicketkeeper-batter in Test history to register hundreds in both innings of a match, despite a batting collapse in the second innings.
“I believe he occasionally pulls the trigger a bit too soon, but that is his formula, his design, and it has been effective for him. In his YouTube video, De Villiers praised him for being true to his game, saying, “You don’t score two hundreds in one match if you don’t know what you’re doing.”
Many are criticising him, saying things like, ‘Can’t you see the match situation? Are you unaware of what’s happening? Would you mind reading the game more closely? However, you can never take that away from him based on his performances, and that is what matters most to me. He is a man who is content with himself and who is ready to face the mirror after failing and know that he will be the one to respond to enquiries, he continued.
The South African veteran also said that he occasionally gets anxious when he sees Rishabh Pant combative style, but he stressed that the benefits outweigh the risks.
He praised Rishabh Pant for being true to himself and doing well under duress.
“What are you doing, Rishabh? This is not the appropriate time or location. But have a look at the outcomes. That is all that is important. He deserved to be named Man of the Match, so it’s a great shame they couldn’t go over the line,” De Villiers said.
India will try to recover when they play the home team in the second Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy on July 2 in Birmingham.
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