Rishabh Pant has been slightly off-colour for India since the T20 World Cup, an observation that was made by former Pakistan captain Inzamam-Ul-Haq. The legendary ex batter, who has been highly vocal with his laurels for Rishabh Pant, feels the 23-year-old batter has fallen a bit off the radar.
India brushed off the disappointment of the T20I World Cup with a win over New Zealand in the first T20I on Wednesday in Jaipur. However, the victory wasn’t as easy as it seemed at one stage. Chasing 165 to win, India was in firm control until the 15-over mark and appeared to be cruising towards the target before a tight squeeze applied by New Zealand in the last five overs made the chase tricky.
Rishabh Pant Hasn’t Lived Up To Inzamam-ul-Haq’s Expectations
With wickets of a set Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer falling in quick succession, India was left to get 10 off the last over when a boundary each from Venkatesh Iyer and Rishabh Pant sealed the game. But one can’t help but feel that with Rishabh Pant around, the team should have closed out the game sooner. But, instead, Rishabh Pant scored an unbeaten 17 off as many balls, including 2 boundaries.
“I had a lot of expectations from Rishabh Pant. The way he has performed in the last two years, I rated him highly. I saw him play in Australia, then against England when they toured India earlier this year.
“The conditions he played in. I thought that like MS Dhoni, when the top order fails, he makes up for it at the bottom. I felt that Pant is that sort of player. But since the World Cup, he hasn’t lived up to my expectations,” Inzamam-ul-Haq said on his YouTube channel.
Rishabh Pant scored 39, 12, and unbeaten 27 in 3 innings in India’s disastrous campaign in T20I World Cup 2021, where they were ousted from the group stage after losing to Pakistan and New Zealand.
Suryakumar Yadav top-scored for India while batting at the Number 3 spot in the absence of former T20I skipper Virat Kohli. Suryakumar Yadav scored 62 runs in 40 balls and added 59 runs with skipper Rohit Sharma for the second wicket. However, Rohit Sharma fell two-run short of his 25th fifty in the format. The India skipper also added 50 runs with KL Rahul for the first wicket that set the early tone for Team India in the chase of 165 runs.
Rishabh Pant Appeared Under Pressure But Is A Treat To Watch: Inzamam-ul-Haq
Inzamam-ul-Haq pointed out how Rishabh Pant’s USP has always been not to get bogged down under pressure, which is why it is a tad strange to see the batter struggle to get going. But, having said that, Inzamam-ul-Haq is confident that it is only a matter of time before the world gets to see Rishabh Pant back at his swashbuckling best.
“He appeared under pressure. Earlier as well, he has been under pressure, but he always used to hit his way out of it. So lately, he hasn’t lived up to my expectations. He scored 17 off 17 but having said that, he is a treat to watch. He must have realized it and I’m certain he will improve his game,” added Inzamam-ul-Haq.
There had been the fifties for Mark Chapman, Martin Guptill, and Suryakumar Yadav, and a 48 from Rohit Sharma full of vintage strokeplay, as well as terrific bowling from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Mitchell Santner, but the end result came down to the bit-part players. Trent Boult also picked 2 scalps.
Martin Guptill top-scored for New Zealand with his impressive 70 off just 42 balls in Jaipur. Martin Guptill and Mark Chapman added 109 runs for the second wicket before the latter was dismissed for 63 by Ravichandran Ashwin.
India 166 for 5 (Suryakumar 62, Rohit 48, Boult 2-31) beat New Zealand 164 for 6 (Guptill 70, Chapman 63, Ashwin 2-23, Bhuvneshwar 2-24) by five wickets