After being benched in the group-stage match of the Asia Cup 2022 against Pakistan, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was included in India’s playing XI for the Super-4 clash versus the arch-rivals in Dubai on Sunday (September 4).
Pant was preferred over veteran campaigner Dinesh Karthik as India didn’t have any left-hander in their line-up after all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja got ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury.
The southpaw was brought in to neutralize the Pakistani spinners in the middle overs. However, he once again perished by playing an adventurous stroke.
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During the 14th over of India’s innings, Pant attempted a reverse sweep off leg-spinner Shadab Khan but his execution was far from right as he hit the ball straight to Asif Ali at backward point.
Rishabh Pant was dismissed for just 14 off 12 balls and once he returned to the dressing room, skipper Rohit Sharma scolded him for throwing away his wicket.
In a video doing rounds on social media, Rohit can be spotted asking Pant to explain the reason for his poor shot selection while the latter can also be seen arguing with his captain.
Here’s the video:
Coming to the match, the Men in Blue posted 181/7 in their 20 overs on the back of Virat Kohli’s 44-ball 60 and vital contributions from Rohit Sharma (28 off 16 balls) and KL Rahul (28 off 20 balls).
In reply, Pakistan rode on the 73-run stand between Mohammad Nawaz (42 off 20 balls) and Mohammad Rizwan (71 off 51 balls) to get over the line with five wickets in hand and a delivery to spare.
