Sir Viv Richards met Rishabh Pant and the Indian team in their dressing room after the Men in Blue defeated Bangladesh in their second Super 8s match in Group 1. This match was played on Saturday at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua.
India was picked to bat first, and courtesy of an undefeated fifty by Hardik Pandya and contributions from Virat Kohli and others, they scored 196/5 in 20 overs. In reply, Bangladesh could only manage 146/8 in 20 overs, with Najmul Hossain Shanto hitting 40.
Kuldeep Yadav starred with 3/19, while Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh each grabbed two wickets.
As is the ritual with the Indian team, the best fielder medal was to be presented in the dressing room and the team management invited none other than Sir Viv Richards himself.
Sir Viv Richards spoke with the Indian players as part of India’s fielding medal presentation to Suryakumar Yadav following the Bangladesh game, greeting Virat Kohli before addressing the stunned Indian team members.
Richards singled out Rishabh Pant from the group and expressed his delight at seeing him return after what he had been through.
“Panty, It’s great to see you back man…What you would have been through, we would have missed that. Great talent and exactly what you have to offer in the future,” Richards said in a video shared by BCCI.
Pant was engaged in a tragic vehicle accident in 2022, which took him out of cricket for more than 14 months. On the other hand, Pant made an impressive comeback to cricket, playing the entire IPL 2024 season. He has scored the most runs for India in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024.
Suryakumar Yadav receives the best fielder medal from Sir Viv Richards
Richards presented Suryakumar Yadav with the fielding medal and took selfies with the team players before leaving. Yadav won the fielding medal after catching Litton Das, Bangladesh’s opener.
“I think Mohammed Siraj, he set the benchmark really high on the field from game one and I’m really happy to be having this medal from the great legend Sir Vivian Richards in Antigua and we’ve been working really hard with Dilip Sir on fielding and it feels good,” said Surya.
Richards went on to praise the Indian team for their outstanding performance in the T20 World Cup. They are now the only unbeaten team in the league since Australia lost to Afghanistan earlier today.
“What can I say to a team that is so already powerful? Man, you know you, you have a good thing going here. And I can only say this, if the guys in maroon don’t get it done, son, I’ll be backing you. Is that OK? That’s not unreasonable enough as a Caribbean person? But really good to see what you guys have here. Just great to see you guys man, and the way you’re playing your cricket man, Love it, enjoying it,” added Richards.
Here is the video:
Also Read: Aakash Chopra Choses Most Explosive Opening Pair in T20 World Cup 2024