How Rishabh Pant became the man to pull India out of any batting crisis
Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has produced runs when they have mattered, when the Indian cricket team has struggled, resulting in great wins or respectable defeats/draws.
July 23, 2022 / 07:39 IST
Every delivery Rishabh Pant faces builds the anticipation of a boundary or a wicket. (Image courtesy: Twitter/@IPL, BCCI)
Rishabh Pant has scored the most runs among Indian batters in Tests since 2019. His 1,586 runs in 23 matches at an average of 45.31 is ahead of Cheteshwar Pujara’s 1,559 at 38.26 from 29, Rohit Sharma’s 1,552 at 55.42 in 18 and Virat Kohli’s 1,484 at 36.19 from 26 matches. If Pant didn’t bat the way he does, in which every delivery he faces builds the anticipation of a boundary or a wicket, this would perhaps be seen differently. His brazen approach bordering on casualness, which lacks the sobriety of a Pujara or the intensity of a Kohli, shadows some of his achievements. Also read: Sprezzatura: The art of getting a lot done without breaking a sweatWhat the wicketkeeper-batter’s stats also don’t reveal is the impact of his runs, quite often scored under perilous circumstances - he pulls out runs at a time when others may have failed, leading the team to a win or to a respectable defeat/draw. It’s turned Pant into the team’s go-to man in a crisis, in any format, in any country, at a time when the team’s top order batting is shaky, inconsistent and undependable.Pant’s latest rabbit-out-of-a-hat move in Tests was a 146 from just 111 balls on the first day of the Edgbaston Test against England earlier this month. England had India at 64-3 when Pant walked in. He saw Kohli go first and then Shreyas Iyer, leaving the total at 98-5 when Ravindra Jadeja came in. The two stitched together a 222-run partnership with Pant getting to his fifth Test century off only 89 deliveries—the fastest by an Indian wicketkeeper. India lost the Test, after being in command for a part of it.It was still not his greatest knock yet, that one is reserved for the fourth Test against Australia in Brisbane last January. It was a series that would be one of India’s most memorable, spanning a documentary Bandon Mein Tha Dum by filmmaker Neeraj Pandey.Australia had not lost a Test at the Gabba in 32 years. But Pant led India to 2-1 series clinching win there that was the team’s second comeback in the series, after having lost the first Test where they were dismissed for an embarrassing 36 in the second innings. Pant walked out at 167-3, and took India to the 328-run target with an unbeaten 89, chasing 63 in the final hour of play with tailenders. In the preceding Test at Sydney, the Indian team was set an improbable fourth innings target of 407 with a little over four sessions remaining. When Pant came to bat, the team was already looking down the barrel at 102-3. But he inspired a fightback with a 148-run stand with Pujara that saw off 45 overs. Pant went for 97, scored quickly off 118 balls, but it was motivating enough for Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Aswin to battle out the remaining overs, helping draw the match.In January this year, Pant soldiered on alone in India’s second innings of the third Test against South Africa at Cape Town. His unbeaten century single-handedly took India to 198—the second highest score was Kohli’s 29 and only one other batter went to double figures. Walking in at 58-4, his 100 came off 139 balls before he ran out of partners, with the remaining five tailenders making 14 runs. South Africa comfortably won by seven wickets but it could have gone any which way had one other batter stuck around with Pant.In the fourth Test against England in Ahmedabad last year, he came in at 80-4, shared a crucial 113-run stand for the seventh wicket with Washington Sundar (96 not out) to score 101 off 118 balls before Axar Patel and Ashwin bowled England out cheaply to win the Test.It’s not the runs that Pant makes and when he makes them, that stand out. It’s the way he makes them, living dangerously, always in a hurry and yet succeeding when all other factors point otherwise. When he came to bat at Edgbaston earlier this month, the run rate was under three. By the time the innings ended, in the 85th over, the run rate was nearly five an over, an unusual scoring rate for any team except England batting under their new aggressive strategy of ‘Bazball’.During his innings, Pant went after the first ball he faced from James Anderson which ended up as an inside-edge. He charged at him again for a straight drive for four, unafraid, unbridled, which really is the crux of his batting.“Rishabh is a very fearless player,” England one-day international (ODI) captain Jos Buttler said after the third match of the ODI series that India won 2-1. “It is probably his mentality that seems to set him apart. Looks like he gets great backing to go and play how he wants to play.”That match at Manchester last week has other meaning for Pant. It brought him his first ODI century that came in circumstances synonymous with Pant. Chasing 260 to win, India were 21-2 when Pant came out and it soon became 72-4. Pant found an able ally in Hardik Pandya (71) and stayed on till the end of the innings, his 125 coming off a measured 113 balls. He did have his ‘Pant’ moments, trying to attack Moeen Ali, being beaten and escaping. With 24 needed off the last nine overs, he hit five successive fours off David Willey in a 21-run over, followed that up with a four off Joe Root’s first ball to take India over the mark. Pandya summed it up after the match: “Rishabh, he paced that innings… We all know what kind of talent he has. When it comes out, it’s very pleasing to the eye—your heartbeat also goes up but at the same time you are in awe of the kind of shots he plays.”It was a coming-of-age moment for Pant, who had never hit a century in 26 ODIs, a format in which he has a respectable 840 runs at an average of just over 36. It also strengthens his case as an all-format player for the present and future, auguring well for the team ahead of this October’s T20 World Cup and next year’s 50-over World Cup. It also builds his resume for future leadership. Several former cricketers already believe Pant can be given India captaincy—he leads the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League and captained India in a T20I series against South Africa this January. India has already tried seven captains this year across formats. With Rohit Sharma in his mid-30s, K.L. Rahul in and out of the team with fitness and health issues, Pant’s only competitor for white ball cricket is Pandya. But then, 24-year-old Pant has shown that he can perform in any format, the more challenging the situation, the better.Also read: Is Rishabh Pant the future skipper?
Arun Janardhan is a Mumbai-based freelance writer-editor. He can be found on Twitter @iArunJ. Views are personal.
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