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Rishabh Pant had done well to drop anchor and keep India’s hopes of a draw alive during the fifth day before running out of patience.
Rishabh Pant made 30 off 104 in India’s second dig. (AP Photo)
Rishabh Pant’s propensity to go for the big shots cost India dear on the fifth day of the Melbourne Test against Australia that culminated into a big defeat. Chasing 340, India suffered early jolts losing three wickets in quick succession before Yashasvi Jaiswal and Pant provided stability. The pair settled down and added 88 runs for the fourth wicket that included a wicketless second session.
Pant showed immense patience for 103 deliveries during which he scored 30 runs and struck just two boundaries. However, his eyes lit up after part-timer Travis Head bowled one delivery short to him and an attempted pull resulted in a catch to Mitchell Marsh at long-on.
India were 122/4 when Pant departed, and his exit sparked a collapse with the tourists folding for 155 in 79.1 overs.
Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar, who blasted Pant during the first innings for throwing away his wicket, indicated that the wicketkeeper-batter is addicted to hitting sixes.
“…the issue is you know there is this shot called sixer in cricket and which is like a drug,” Gavaskar told India Today. “Once you hit a couple of sixes, then you think that’s a real a high because once you hit the ball cleanly of the middle of the bat and it goes into the stands, there is no better feeling for a batter. Sixer is a different feeling and it’s a drug, it gets into your system.”
“The difference between a boundary and a six is just two runs but the risk percentage is 100 per cent. Boundary is hit along the ground no risk at all, a six is attempted with the ball up in the air and if you don’t time it, if it hits the toe of your bat, it can go up and you can be out caught,” he added.
Gavaskar said Pant’s dismissal proved pivotal as it gave Australia an opening.
“At that particular point of time there was no need to go for a six, it was not going to win us the match. There was a long on there, there was a deep square leg there, so if a pull shot along the ground would have been attempted it would have got you four runs, and that is how it opened the door for Australia,” Gavaskar said.
