Cheteshwar Pujara has backed Rishabh Pant to improve, make changes to his game and polish his shot selection after the wicketkeeper-batter’s much-criticized three-ball duck on Thursday. Cheteshwar Pujara said Rishabh Pant will receive pertinent inputs from Team India’s head coach and captain after “every match and every innings.”
Rishabh Pant came to bat at a crucial moment on Day 3 of the ongoing second India-South Africa Test in Johannesburg. The visitors were then 163-4, just 136 runs in lead. The southpaw was convincingly beaten on the first two balls. Then, in an apparent attempt to put the pressure back on pacer Kagiso Rabada, he charged down the track and went cross-batted against a short ball. But Rishabh Pant only got a thick outside edge to the wicketkeeper.
Cheteshwar Pujara: Rishabh Pant Will Definitely Get Inputs From Skipper And coach After Every Innings Of Every Match
Cheteshwar Pujara, who got out just a couple of overs before that, expressed confidence that Rishabh Pant would learn from his mistakes and only get better with experience. The visitors India made a good start on Day 3 but lost their way after the dismissals of Ajinkya Rahane (58) and Cheteshwar Pujara (53).
The pair registered half-centuries to take India’s lead past the 100-run mark. They were dismissed by Kagiso Rabada, who also took the wicket of Rishabh Pant. Apart from Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi also picked three wickets each while Duanne Olivier took one.
In this regard, Pujara said: “Although he couldn’t score runs in this match, Rishabh has done well for us in the past. Everyone knows his game, he plays quite positively. He’s a young player and will learn what changes he could make in his game, what shots to play and not to play from such innings. He’ll definitely get those inputs from the captain and the coach after every match and every innings. As he moves forward, I think he’ll improve as a player.”
Rishabh Pant scored 274 runs at an average of 68.50 in five innings for India against Australia in 2020/21 Down Under. The keeper continued his form against England at home where he hit 270 runs at an average of 54.00 as he was the second-highest run-getter for India in the series. But since the end of the home Test series against England, Rishabh Pant has played seven Tests, all away from home, and has averaged a mere 19.23.
Rishabh Pant was chastised for his shot selection and situational awareness, some of it fair and some of it quite overboard. Legend Sunil Gavaskar also slammed the 25-year-old for not showing responsibility, saying there can’t be any “nonsense about that being his natural game” Rishabh Pant hasn’t been in the best of forms of late and he’ll certainly feel the pressure of scoring some runs in the third Test, irrespective of the result of this game.
Cheteshwar Pujara Hopes India’s Current Team Spirits Will Help Them Win The Next WTC Final
Asked about the heated moments between the two teams at the Wanderers on Wednesday, Cheteshwar Pujara said the visitors are a “confident unit” who don’t shy away from giving it back to the opposition. He even expressed hope that such team spirit will help India win the World Test Championship 2021-23.
Cheteshwar Pujara added: “We are a confident unit. We stick together, we have won overseas together. So whenever there’s a battle, all the guys are charged up. They love the battle on the field. And whenever there’s someone who goes after our players, they’ll always get something back. Yeah, we enjoy the battle on the field and I think cricket has to be competitive and that’s what we try and work on. We’ll stick to what we have done, there’s a great team spirit and even going forward, this will continue and I hope that over a period of time, this will help us win the next WTC final.”
India middle-order batter Hanuma Vihari might have only made 40 runs in the second innings of the ongoing Second Test match between India and South Africa at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, but the weight of that knock was immense as it got him applause from cricket fans and pundits alike on social media.
The hosts, chasing 240, went to stumps at 118-2, with Dean Elgar and Rassie van der Dussen amid a 25-run partnership. Skipper Dean Elgar (46), who took many a blow on his body, and Rassie van der Dussen (11) will resume the home chase on Thursday morning. They need 122 more runs to level the series. India removed opener Aiden Markram (34) and Keegan Petersen (28) but the home batters ensured there were no more setbacks after that.