Rishabh Pant’s 159* at Sydney was a demonstration in the art of building an innings, something that the youngster has had to learn.
When Cheteshwar Pujara was dismissed for 193 in the afternoon session on day two of the Sydney Test, Rishabh Pant was batting on 44 runs off 79 balls. His strike rate of 55.69 per 100 balls was low compared to his career strike rate of 73.80 from nine Tests.
It wasn’t down to pitch or a tough match situation – India were 329-5 when Pant came in, and the SCG offered a good batting surface. Rather, this was a milestone in the development of the young Pant, his coming of age, perhaps. He played with a purpose of building his innings.
“I think he (Pant) learnt the art of pacing his innings at Sydney,” Ratra told Wisden. “Earlier, he had been attacking from the word go, and in doing so he was taking too many risks. But at Sydney he paced it well, and as a result a total that seemed to touch 500-550 eventually ended up being 622.
“Attacking play comes naturally to him, and it’s best suited for a No.7 batsman. Because at times you’re batting with the tail and you don’t have enough time. But it is equally important to pace your innings well, especially at the start.
“And therefore, full credit should be given to Pant for the way he paced his innings – at the start when he was batting with Pujara, he was cautious. It was only after he had got a start and India had a sizeable total on the board that he started playing attacking shots.”
So where is Pant’s career headed? He isn’t a sure starter in the one-day international set-up and was replaced by MS Dhoni as the wicket-keeper for India’s T20Is against New Zealand as well. But at the same time, he has equalled the record for most catches by a wicket-keeper in a Test match (11) and has become the first Indian wicket-keeper to score a Test century in Australia – India first toured the country 71 years ago.
His career, like so many of his innings, has shown the sparks of brilliance. Now it’s about digging in for the long run and showing a will to improve. It’s a matter of when, and not if, he grows into his role to be India’s first-choice keeper.
