Rishabh Pant at No. 3 has been a revelation for India at the T20 World Cup. Playing his first tournament for India in 18 months, Pant has found his mojo in a position that, for years, belonged to Virat Kohli. But with India partnering Kohli with his captain Rohit Sharma as opener, Pant has taken the No. 3 spot by storm. While his tally of 152 runs from five innings may not be the most jaw-dropping number, his strike-rate of 135.7 has been crucial for India. Every time when either Rohit or Kohli has fallen cheaply, Pant has taken the bull by its horns and played shots all around. Most of them have worked, some haven't, but then again, that's what Rishabh Pant brings to the table.
Pant has looked like a million bucks whenever he's started his innings, including 20 against Afghanistan and 36 against Bangladesh. Surprisingly though, in both matches, he perished playing the same shot: the reverse sweep, which has brought Pant a lot of success. Against Afghanistan, Pant was out LBW to Rashid Khan, while in the game against Bangladesh, he reverse-swept the ball to the short third-man fielder. The dismissal came at a crucial time during India's innings. Both Kohli and Rohit were back in the dugout, while Suryakumar Yadav was also out caught behind. Pant's dismissal left India at 108/4 with 8 overs to go.
Pant's wicket left many people disappointed, but apparently none more than Kohli, who was visibly upset about his teammate's dismissal. Shortly after Pant was out, Kohli, sitting next to Rohit in the dugout, could be seen discussing something with his captain with a lot of hand gesturing. While no one can guarantee exactly what they were discussing, the body language could have a lot to do with Pant. Even the commentators felt the same.
What the commentators felt
"If he commits the same mistake twice – right now it's fine – but in big matches he can face problems because big teams don't let these opportunities slip," said Piyush Chawla. "Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are in agreement there. Because they know what Pant is capable of."
The episode didn't end there. Kohli then walked up to Pant and had a short chat with him. Judging by Kohli's intense gesturing, it was very clear that he wasn't happy with the way Pant got out and possibly talked to him about how he could have been a little more careful. Kohli also had a distraught look on his face the moment Pant found Tanzim Hasan off the bowling of Rishad Hossain.
"You could see Kohli talking to him now. He was playing really well, Rishabh. Was there a need to play such a shot in that situation," said Deep Dasgupta on air. His fellow commentator Sanjay Manjrekar then joined in: "If you noticed Virat Kohli's reaction… when Rishabh Pant got out, Kohli didn't know that the camera was on him. He immediately reacted and then hid his face with a towel. The way fans would have reacted to his dismissal, Kohli did the same way."
Read more news like this on ncrjournal.com