Soumya Sarkar had bowled the ball on middle stump. In fact, we could even say off and middle. Rishabh Pant, to our complete surprise, had his head down, and with just a flick of his wrists, dispatched the ball over fine leg for a boundary. This was one of many such shots he played that reminded me of Sourav Ganguly’s words just a day earlier. “He is a very special player because he gets the unique angles in a ground like no one else does,” Ganguly had said. “That’s the beauty of his batting.”
Anyone who watched him score a 32-ball fifty against Bangladesh would agree that every word rang true. Yes, a warm-up game is no index. More so these days when few teams take them seriously. But, Pant still had to play those shots. The reverse-scoop over short third man which landed way into the stands, or the flick over fine leg which left the bowler looking rather helpless.
Pant was playing shots all over the ground, and all of a sudden, the pitch appeared to have eased out after Sanju Samson and Rohit Sharma found the going tough in the initial overs. Pant, however, had no such issues. Even the shot with which he got to his 50 looked sublime. To a ball outside off stump, he got himself into position to dispatch it wide of long-on for four.
The other thing that stood out for me was where Pant batted. If that’s the plan, it could be a game-changer for India. With Kohli and Rohit at the top, Pant could be an ideal No. 3. He bats left-handed, plays audacious shots and is capable of exploiting the Powerplay in case an early wicket falls. He is equally adept against pace and spin, and more importantly, batting at 3 will allow him to control the game from the off.
Rishabh Pant’s 32-ball 53 at No. 3, studded with four sixes, was the batting highlight, while Arshdeep Singh took wickets in his opening two overs, as India warmed up for the T20 World Cup with an emphatic 60-run win against Bangladesh.#INDvsBAN @BCCI https://t.co/uFwTXDFSIa
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) June 1, 2024
Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4 means the left-right combination can be kept going, and this tweak might just suit India really well if the team eventually decides to open with Kohli and Rohit, which is starting to look extremely likely. Had Yashasvi Jaiswal been in the scheme of things, there was no reason to open with Samson in the practice game. And that tells me Pant at 3 is a real possibility.
An in-form Pant could mean it rubs off on his wicket-keeping, and between Surya and Pant, the scoring rate will never really dip. Frankly, after a rather scratchy Rohit innings, my real takeaway from the Indian batting effort was Pant and Surya.
Let me also point out that Pant was on 1 from 5 balls to start with. He did not panic, nor did he throw his wicket away. Rather, once he got adjusted to the pace and bounce, he seemed in complete control, something that will please Rohit and Rahul Dravid no end.
If Pant ticked all the boxes, what I would have liked to see was Hardik Pandya finishing well for India. And that’s what I did not see, adding to my worry over his form. Yes, he did hit a few sixes and was unbeaten on 40. But the innings was anything but convincing. Multiple skiers landed in between fielders, there was one 50-50 stumping and a tame finish. It wasn’t what you wanted to see as an Indian fan. So while Pant rocked and gave the think tank a happy headache, the form of both Pandya and Rohit remains a major concern.