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At a time when Rishabh Pant has been earning rave reviews for his scintillating hundred in the final Test against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham, at least from former Indian and English cricketers, one man has stood out for his criticism of the 24-year-old left-hander. He's none other than Pakistan speedster Mohammad Asif who has claimed that there was nothing special about Rishabh Pant's knock, instead crediting the England bowlers for making his life easy on the pitch due to their poor show.
Rishabh Pant came out to bat when India looked down and out at 98/5, having lost the wickets of Shubhman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer. Despite finding India in deep trouble, Rishabh Pant began a no-holds-barred assault on the English bowlers and alongside his unconventional stroke-play, he was quickly able to stand his authority over them.
Completely tearing the England attack, the explosive India wicketkeeper batter smashed a stunning 146 off only 111 balls, taking his team out of a dangerous situation on Day 1 of the Test match. Rishabh Pant smacked 19 boundaries and four sixes during his dominant knock at Edgbaston. During his whirlwind knock, he was ably supported by another centurion Ravindra Jadeja as the pair added a quickfire 222 runs in a match-defining sixth-wicket stand.
With his 89-ball century, Rishabh Pant went past the legendary MS Dhoni to become the fastest India wicketkeeper batter to reach the three-figure mark in Test cricket. While Dhoni took 93 balls to complete his ton in 2005, Rishabh Pant needed only 89 deliveries to achieve the milestone.
En route to his scintillating century in Birmingham, Rishabh Pant also broke a long-standing Sachin Tendulkar record. The southpaw became the youngest Indian cricketer to hit 100 sixes in international cricket. Rishabh Pant attained the landmark by smashing England spinner Jack Leach out of the park during his brilliant knock on Friday.
India wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant came up with a breathtaking knock on Day 1 of the fifth and final Test match against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Friday. The 24-year-old explosive middle-order batter looked in imperious touch as he launched an all-out assault on the English bowlers to bring up his fifth hundred in the whites. With his 89-ball century, Rishabh Pant went past the legendary MS Dhoni to become the fastest India wicketkeeper batter to reach the three-figure mark in Test cricket. While Dhoni took 93 balls to complete his ton in 2005, Rishabh Pant needed only 89 deliveries to achieve the milestone.
En route to his scintillating century in Birmingham, Rishabh Pant also broke a long-standing Sachin Tendulkar record. The southpaw became the youngest Indian cricketer to hit 100 sixes in international cricket. Rishabh Pant attained the landmark by smashing England spinner Jack Leach out of the park during his brilliant knock on Friday.
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Sachin Tendulkar was previously the youngest Indian to smash 100 sixes in international cricket, having achieved the feat as a 25-year-old. But Rishabh Pant’s heroics at Edgbaston helped him leapfrog the iconic cricketer as he reached the landmark at 24 years, 271 days.
Besides breaking the records of MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, Rishabh Pant scripted history at Edgbaston as well. When he struck his 24th run of the innings, Rishabh Pant became the youngest wicketkeeper batter in the history of the longest format of the game to complete 2,000 runs.
While Rishabh Pant earned worldwide acclaim from several ex-cricketers, pundits and fans, he was surprisingly criticized by Mohammad Asif.
“It was totally England bowlers' fault as Pant did no wonders. He [Pant] has technical faults. His left-hand doesn't work but still, he managed to score a century because English bowlers didn’t bowl to him in his weak areas,” Mohammad Asif said in a video on Twitter.
“I will not name individuals but England made a lot of mistakes. When Jadeja and Pant were batting, they brought in a left-arm spinner who wasn't an ideal option to bowl at that moment. I am not against Pant, but with such decisions by the opposition, you get an edge to score big,” Mohammad Asif added.
https://twitter.com/mak_asif/status/1543173003089166336
Earlier, Rishabh Pant had described his feeling after scoring what was his fifth Test hundred and his second on English soil.
“I was just focusing on the ball. Yes, the pressure was there because when you lose 3-4 wickets early on. You've got to build a partnership but at the same time, if you focus on the result, you might not get the result. I tried to focus on the process which gives me results most of the time.”
“As a player, I try not to think about what the opposition wants to do. It's more about what I want to do and reading the game situation,” Rishabh Pant said.
“Especially in conditions like England, where you know the bowler is bowling well, it becomes important to disturb their line and length,” Rishabh Pant added. “I keep trying that I do not play in the same manner so that the bowler gets mentally disturbed.”
