Pant slammed a match-winning ton in the series decider on July 17.
Legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar has rated Rishabh Pant’s innings of 125* on Sunday (July 17) as one of the best he has ever witnessed in the 50-over format. On the back of his stellar knock, India beat England to win the three-match ODI series 2-1.
Pant walked in to bat with his team precariously placed at 21/2 and soon after the situation got even worse for the tourists as the wickets of Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav fell in quick succession.
Walking in to bat at number 6 was Hardik Pandya, who had registered his career-best bowling figures in the first inning (4/24 in 7 overs) and teamed up with the southpaw to launch a counterattack on the English bowlers.
Gavaskar said that Pant showed a lot of maturity during his knock and curbed his natural instincts with India being under pressure.
“He has shown maturity and learned from his mistakes from the T20I series against South Africa. There’s a difference between ODI and the T20I format, but the way he took responsibility, particularly after Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav were out was heartwarming to see,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying to India Today.
The duo stitched a match-defining 133-run partnership after which Pandya got out. The 22-year-old though continued the onslaught and brought up his maiden century in ODIs. Once he achieved the milestone, he started toying with the English bowlers belting them all around the park.
SEE ALSO: WATCH- KL Rahul faces off against Jhulan Goswami in nets at the NCA
Gavaskar said that it was ‘heartwarming’ to see the wicketkeeper batter bat wisely in the beginning and further stated that Pant did everything absolutely right.
“It was heartwarming because of the way he curbed his natural instincts at the start. Towards the end, once he got his eyes in, once he got the measure of the pitch, he realized the need to accelerate. He did everything absolutely spot-on. It’s got to be one of the finest ever one-day centuries,” he added.
The cricketer-turned-commentator remarked that the partnership between Hardik and Rishabh was admirable and just goes to show the potential of this young Indian side.
“The win yesterday was absolutely magnificent. The way Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya built that partnership after India lost four wickets with not too many, credit to their temperament because batting wasn’t easy at that stage. The way they built their innings was truly admirable. It tells what this young team can do going forward,” he added further.
Rishabh Pant finally with a reverse sweep off Joe Root’s bowling took the team over the line with more than 7 overs to spare.
The Men in Blue will next take on West Indies in a three-match ODI series, beginning Friday (July 22).
(INDIA TODAY INPUTS)