Team India wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant once again threw his wicket away with one of the most questionable shots during Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test against Australia. Rishabh Pant’s dismissal drew criticism from former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar, who was left fuming and called the shot “stupid.”
India resumed their innings at 164/5 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday, December 28. India relied on Rishabh Pant to stabilize the innings in the morning session. However, Pant made a poor decision attempting to take on Scott Boland, resulting in his dismissal and leaving India in deeper trouble.
Watch: Rishabh Pant’s Dismissal While Playing a Scoop off Scott Boland
Rishabh Pant attempted a lap shot over fine leg to counterattack Scott Boland in the 56th over. However, he mistimed it and got a top edge that went straight into the hands of Nathan Lyon at third man. Pant departed for 28 runs off 37 balls, leaving India struggling at 191/6 with a deficit of 283 runs.
Pant had attempted the same shot earlier but was hit on his body and fell to the ground. The southpaw has struggled with form on the current tour and is yet to score more than 30 runs in any innings. Captain Rohit Sharma defended Pant, stating it was unfair to judge him based on just three Tests matches.
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Stupid, Stupid, Stupid! You’ve Got Two Fielders There – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar expressed his frustration on air after Rishabh Pant’s poor shot selection. Gavaskar criticized Pant for not respecting the match conditions and called his actions “stupid.” He highlighted that Pant ignored the presence of two fielders and repeated a risky shot despite missing it earlier.
“Stupid, Stupid, STUPID! You’ve got two fielders there, and you still go for that. You missed the previous shot, and look where you’ve been caught. That is throwing away your wicket,” Gavaskar said during commentary on ABC Sport.
“You cannot say that is your natural game. I’m sorry. That is not your natural game. This is a stupid shot. This is letting your team down badly. You have to understand the situation as well. He should not be going in that [India’s] dressing room, he should be going in the other dressing room,” he added.
Pat Cummins Knew He Had the Field Right There – Kerry O’Keeffe
Former cricketer Kerry O’Keeffe and Australian Women’s captain Alyssa Healy praised Pat Cummins for his tactical captaincy leading up to Pant’s dismissal. Healy added that the shot was risky with those field placements, despite Pant not intending for the ball to go to Nathan Lyon.
“You sense that Pant was placed there for such a shot. They also had the two deep (fielders) on the leg side, a fine leg and a backward square anticipating something like that,” O’Keeffe told Fox Cricket.
“Obviously Rishabh didn’t mean the ball to go to Nathan Lyon, but with two out on the leg side it’s a risky shot,” Healy explained.
“Pat was grinning, he knew he had the field right there,” O’Keeffe finished by saying.