Rishabh Pant was dismissed by Travis Head at a crucial moment of the MCG Test, playing a shot that had an expected average of 112.4.
India were set a target of 340 to take a 2-1 lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but the visitors were in a spot of bother at 33-3, having lost Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli within 26.1 overs. Rishabh Pant walked out at No.5 and combined with Yashasvi Jaiswal, as the duo batted out the entire second session.
After the tea break, Australia began with Travis Head and Nathan Lyon as they looked to get through their overs before taking the new ball. Head struck soon after, dismissing Pant five overs after the commencement of the third session.
He pulled back his length, bowling a fraction shorter to Pant, who attempted a pull. However, Pant was not able to get behind the shot and ended up hitting wide of long-on. Mitchell Marsh took a fine running catch to his left, as Pant departed for a 104-ball 30.
It was Head’s second wicket of the series, having also dismissed Akash Deep in the Brisbane Test.
Pant, who had been dismissed off a “stupid” shot in the first innings, going for a scoop to fine leg, earning him plenty of criticism from Sunil Gavaskar, was in the firing line yet again. The former India opener pulled Pant up for playing a loose shot after showing tremendous application and for taking an unnecessary risk in a crucial moment.
CricViz later tweeted that the “Expected Average for Risbah Pant’s dismissal ball was 112.4" - but what is that and how is it calculated?
What is the Expected Average of a ball?
CricViz uses ball-tracking to calculate how many runs, on average, would be scored on a delivery and what the likelihood of taking a wicket off that ball is. It captures all that is under the bowler’s control, such as the trajectory, seam position, pace and spin, to highlight how good a delivery has been.
In this instance, the ball bowled by Head had an expected average of 112.4, suggesting that a delivery like that has not troubled batters historicall. Playing an attacking shot on that delivery while trying to save a game, then, pushed India towards the backfoot.
India fell from 121-3 to 154-9 following Pant’s dismissal, with the loss also reducing their chances of making it into the World Test Championship final.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
