Rishabh Pant had been having a torrid time with the bat and the gloves for the Indian team. The heir apparent to MS Dhoni, the much loved former India captain, has been accused of taking things too lightly and relying only on his talents.
Whenever he has failed or made a mistake behind the stumps in India or aboard, he has heard chants of “Dhoni, Dhoni” from the crowd, putting even more pressure on the young lad to do well and fill in the gargantuan sized place of Dhoni in the team. Even skipper Virat Kohli had to tell the crowd to stop chanting Dhoni’s name when Pant was playing, calling it disrespectful.
However, Pant managed to change the tide in one of the places not a single soul would have even thought that would chant his name. Pant came into bat in the 16th overs, with India losing its top three for a low score and added 114 runs with Shreyas Iyer. The Haridwar-born lad also scored his maiden fifty in the process and got lauded by the commentators for his matured innings, where he curbed his instincts to hit big from the start.
Chennai crowd is a fierce supporter of MS Dhoni who also has a road named after him in the city after all the adulation and fame he has brought thanks to his leadership of Chennai Super Kings in IPL. However, as Pant went back to the pavilion for his highest ODI score of 71, which was an amazing knock, the crowd couldn't help but chant his name, 'Pant, Pant, Pant'.
Meanwhile, India put up 287 runs on the board and West Indies started their chase brilliantly, with Shimron Hetmyer hitting his fifth ODI hundred.
