Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria said that Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant's knock in the third ODI against England reminded him of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif’s heroics in the final of the NatWest Trophy back in 2002.
India's Yuvraj (69) and Kaif (87*) added 121 runs for the sixth wicket to help India come out of a tricky situation (146/5) chasing 326-runs to win and eventually go on to win the famous final by two wickets against England.
Similar scenes were seen during the third and final ODI between England and India when Pant (125*) joined with Hardik Pandya (71) and added 133 runs to help the side win the match by 5 wickets and clinch the series with a 2-1 margin against England.
Danish Kaneria said on his Youtube channel: “Rishabh Pant's innings reminded me of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif in the Natwest Trophy final. Even there, the top-order batters were gone in a collapse, the youngsters helped India cross the line.”
He further added, “Pandya and Pant also similarly put up a crucial partnership. They broke the bowling unit. Pandya is in a great rhythm now, he has worked really hard on his fitness.”
Kaneria also lauded Pant for showing maturity in the final ODI and said that the left-hander will become a “world class player”.
He said, “Rishabh Pant played with a lot of maturity, he is going to be a world-class player. There are only a few players who can match him in terms of talent.”
He signed off by saying, “Pant can even convert his 100s to 200, that's how big a player he is. He is extremely confident as well. If you have players like Pandya and Pant, targets like these become easier to chase.”
