Former India opener Wasim Jaffer opined that Rishabh Pant’s lack of runs in the shortest format is a bit of a worrying sign. Jaffer also said that India would have been happier if Virat Kohli and Pant contributed more to India’s chase.
After winning the toss, India invited the visitors to bat and they were restricted to a total of 157 in 20 overs, in response, India chased it down with 7 balls to spare as skipper Rohit Sharma himself led from the front with a cameo of 40 off 19 and at the end Suryakumar Yadav 34*(18) & Venkatesh Iyer 24*(13) took the team home from a tricky situation.
No.5 might be a better position for Rishabh Pant, opines Wasim Jaffer
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Wasim Jaffer said that it would have been an ideal win for India if Kohli and Pant scored more runs for them and took the team home.
“If I talk about the chase, I think India would have been happier if Virat Kohli had scored some runs and Pant had finished the game. That would’ve been ideal. It did look, you know, a little bit tricky when (Venkatesh) Iyer came out to bat even though he did a pretty good job. I think Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid will be happy that these two guys finished the game for India. That’s definitely a good sign,” Wasim Jaffer said
Jaffer also opined that the no.5 might be a better position for Rishabh Pant where he can express himself. Also he expressed his worry about the lack of runs by Rishabh Pant in this format. Pant scored 631 runs in 36 innings with an average of 22.53 which included only 2 fifties.
“But I think with Virat not making a big contribution and shot that Rishabh Pant played and got out. I mean, we’ve seen it quite a few times – he’s a mercurial player when he gets going. But in T20 internationals he hasn’t got going as yet as he has done in Tests and ODIs. That’s a bit of a worrying sign. Sometimes I feel that maybe the No. 4 is a bit up for him or probably No. 5 is a better position for him,” he added.
Jaffer lauded the efforts of Suryakumar Yadav as he played another free slowing innings to take the team home. He stated that Suryakumar can bat anywhere in the middle order.
“The kind of shots he plays and the areas he hits the balls, he doesn’t let anyone coming on top of him a bowler… And he has that ability to finish games as well which is very good. That’s why he can bat at No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 also and as needed. I mean, at times he can go at 10-12 runs/over and finish the game which is very, very good and very nice to watch that somebody in such a quick time is developing into such a fine cricketer,” he concluded.
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