Why Rishabh Pant is Every Bowler's Nightmare: Mark Wood Shares Insights on His Explosive Batting Style (Image Credit - ANI)
England fast-bowler Mark Wood has gone on record about the difficulty of bowling to Rishabh Pant, and it turns out that the Indian wicketkeeper loves to be fearless, which makes him always nervous. The contests of rapid pace of Wood and bold stroke-making of Pant have become one of the most interesting encounters of the recent cricketing history.
Pant has had an unbelievable success against England and has made 1260 runs in 16 Tests with an average of 46.66 and five memorable centuries. He has made it hard to challenge even the most accomplished bowlers like Wood with his capability to outdo them.
The English quick said that it takes nerves of steel to bowl to Rishabh Pant. Any pattern of bowling, he says, which can be calculated upon, is on the side of Pant, because he has the vision and the reflexions to resist nearly everything.
“I think you’ve got to hold your nerve. That’s basically what I would say, because I think you have to be so unpredictable that it plays into his hands. He can just stand there and wait for anything difficult. But if you’re the same all the time, then he’s got such a good eye, he sort of hits it where he wants. So I think you’ve got to have a mixture of holding your nerve with maybe the odd ball that’s a bit unpredictable — whether it’s a slower ball, or you might change up with a really high bouncer, or something slightly different,” Wood said on the Stick to Cricket podcast as quoted from Sky Sports.
Bowlers have been compelled to reason in a different way by the trademark aggression of Pant. Pant (unlike batters) does not mind being rushed and tends to turn threatening crosses into goals. This has made him be considered as one of the most destructive Test batters of his generation due to his skill of counter-attack.
Rishabh Pant has an unpredictable nature and this makes his opponents guess. He frequently goes out against quick bowlers, catches short-pitched balls and discovers unusual points of scoring. Such a combination of boldness and talent has made him an irreplaceable middle order in India over the past years.
The Asia Cup is being held in next month but it has ruled out Pant with a broken foot though he is a very good player with the bat. The injury happened on the recently ended England tour where he tried a reverse swing on Chris Woakes. The fourth Test in Manchester saw the ball bounce off on his ankle and foot.
Pant was forced to go off the field on Day 1 with a grossly swollen foot. But with remarkable persistence he came back the following day and battled on despite pain to make a gritty half-century. This attempt underscored his strength which is a hallmark of Rishabh Pant as a cricketer.
After being injured, Pant was substituted by Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps to the end of the Test. Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar enabled India to attract the match after centuries. Pant, though, did not have to bat in the second innings any more.
In the meantime India will be deprived of their explosive wicketkeeper-batter. His absence means a lot since his aggressive motive and counter attacking batting style has a lot of impact on the fortunes of India during important matches. Rishabh Pant would be the match-winner that every bowler is afraid of once fit.
Putin’s India Visit: Russian President Vladimir Putin received a ceremonial welcome and a Guard of…
Su-57 Vs F-35 Fighter Jet: India is weighing a crucial defence decision as it evaluates…
Russian President Vladimir Putin reached New Delhi, received a ceremonial welcome, visited Rajghat, and is…
