ENG v IND 2018: Rishabh Pant's impressive Test debut leaves his mother surprised

Rishabh Pant becomes the fourth Indian wicket-keeper to take five catches on Test debut.

Pant became the first Asian wicket-keeper to take five catches in an innings on debut | Getty Images

Indian Test debutant Rishabh Pant has been all over the social media after his noticeable start to the traditional format of the game, as the explosive batsman started his Test career with a SIX, hitting an outrageous six off Adil Rashid off the second ball he faced in Test cricket against England at Trent Bridge.

However, the left-hander couldn’t emulate Mark Craig, who had hit a six off the first ball he faced in Test cricket, but won everyone’s heart around the world with his brilliant Test debut, scoring 25 runs (2 fours and one six) while batting at No.7 in the third Test against England.

While Pant became the first Indian batsman to open his Test cricket account with a six and his mother Saroj was “very much surprised” when she saw the shot on television as well as Rashid.

As per reports in The Kashmir Times, she said, “I was very nervous when I heard that he would be making his Test debut. I was very much surprised. Before going into play the Test, he telephoned me and asked me to watch him play on TV. I generally don’t watch matches on TV when he is playing. However, after his father’s recent death, he has been requesting me to watch him play.”

Meanwhile, Pant’s Coach Tarak Sinha, who has coached several international cricketers including Surinder Khanna, Manoj Prabhakar, Raman Lamba, Anjum Chopra, Ashish Nehra, and Shikhar Dhawan, was not really surprise with his brilliant shot selection on his Test debut in England.

He signed off by saying, “Rishabh is a steel [sic] man and among all my other promising pupils, has ability to hit hard. He is mentally very strong and is not only the player with the white ball. He has proved that he can play the red cherry with confidence and against all odds”.

 

 

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 20 Aug, 2018

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