Rishabh Pant became the first Indian and fastest to 100 sixes in Tests.
Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara has lauded keeper-batter Rishabh Pant’s brilliant knock in India’s second innings of the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. After bowling out Sri Lanka for 284 runs in the first innings, after posting 462 runs, India wanted to post big runs in the second innings to set a big target for Sri Lanka.
KL Rahul (35) and Devdutt Padikkal (44) laid a good foundation for India in the second innings, but it was Rishabh Pant who made 66 off 69 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes, as India posted 193 runs. Thanks to his knock, India set a target of 372 runs for Sri Lanka to chase.
Cheteshwar Pujara praised Rishabh Pant for making an important knock under duress. He noted that because he hasn't been playing well in white-ball cricket, the wicketkeeper-batter would lack confidence.
"Although it might be 60-odd runs, I think it was an outstanding knock considering the situation. There was slight pressure on him. He is not performing in white-ball cricket. He isn't part of India's ODI and T20I squads. He is playing only the Test format at the moment.
Even in the IPL, he hasn't been performing that well. So, your confidence as a batter goes down slightly. You feel a little pressure at that stage. Playing such an innings despite that pressure needs to be praised. That's why Rishabh Pant should be in the Test squad," Pujara said on Sony Sports.
He also appreciated Rishabh Pant for his sensible batting and utilizing sweeps and reverse sweeps wisely, especially against Keshara Nuwantha.
"The thing I liked the most was that he batted sensibly. He has to play attackingly; that's his natural game, but along with that, he defended when required. He played shots when the fast bowlers came. He was using the sweep and reverse sweep against the off-spinner. Those are excellent shots,” Pujara said.
"He was stepping out and trying to hit over mid-on and mid-off in the first innings. He didn't try that today. He was playing pull shots over mid-off against the fast bowlers. That's his strength. So, he batted to his strengths. He improved his shot selection," he added.
In the huge chase of 372 runs, Sri Lanka lost 4 wickets while making 84 runs in the second innings, with Dhananjaya de Silva on 31* and Sonal Dinusha on 25*. Manav Suthar has done well, picking up 2 wickets.
Sri Lanka will need 288 more runs on the final day with 6 wickets in hand.