Former Pakistani cricketer Rashid Latif lauded Rishabh Pant for his knock in the series decider against England in Manchester. He said that the keeper batter hammered English bowlers and he scores run everywhere.
Pant was one of the main architects behind India’s cruising win in the series decider. The southpaw played his best ODI knock and smashed his maiden ton in this format. He scored unbeaten 125 runs with the help of 16 fours and 2 sixes and took his team beyond the finishing line.
Pant came to bat when India saw themselves tumbling at 21/2 and then were reduced to 72/4. What stood out was he played with great maturity and showed great patience, which allowed Hardik Pandya to play freely and put pressure on the opposition.
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But once he was set, he took matters into his own hand and tonked English bowlers to all over the park and also stitched 133 runs partnership with Pandya, who scored 71 runs. He finished the game in style for his side as he hit 6 fours in the last 7 balls of the match and helped his side clinch the series by the margin of 2-1.
Speaking on his Youtube channel ‘Caught Behind’, Rashid Latif praised Rishabh Pant for his heroics, saying that nobody can teach him how to play. Calling it a hammering on English bowlers, he said that the keeper batter score runs everywhere.
“Rishabh Pant chal gaye to chand tak, nahi to sham tak. He is that kind of a player. Nobody can teach him how to play. It was outstanding batting, because of the shots that he played to fast bowlers with balance. Maara nahi hai, dhoya hai, be it Australia, England or South Africa, he has scored runs everywhere,” Rashid Latif said.
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Latif hailed Pant as the ‘Brain Lara’ of wicketkeepers and said that the keeper batter is unpredictable as he can win you as well as lose you games.
“Sometimes he gets out in such a way that he makes a fool of himself, and sometimes he plays like no one can play. He is Brian Lara of wicket-keepers. Mili juli batting hai inki, hare hue match ko jita dete hai, aur jite hue match ko harwa bhi sakte hai,” he said.
Latif also lauded Rohit’s captaincy and said that he has a good experience as he has led Mumbai Indians in the IPL. He called him calmer than Kohli.
“Rohit has good experience, under his leadership, Mumbai Indians won five IPL trophies. Captain Virat Kohli played his role to perfection in international cricket.
“Now Rohit has returned after injury and it is easy for him. He has captained a huge franchise and the players are almost the same. So, it wouldn’t be a problem for him. He is much more calmer than Virat Kohli and doing his job really well,” he said.
Pant will be now seen in the action in the five-match T20I series against West Indies, starting later this month.
