India B star Rishabh Pant had a brilliant outing with the bat on Day 3 of the Duleep Trophy match against India A in Bengaluru. Pant, who scored just seven runs in the first innings, slammed a 34-ball half-century in the second innings to help India B increase their lead over India A. India B (321) had taken a first innings lead of the 90 runs after bowling India A out for 231. Pant, who is one of the India Test hopefuls for the upcoming series against Bangladesh, hit nine 4s and two maximums and was the headliner of the day with a 61 off 47 balls.
Apart from setting the stage on fire with his batting, Pant was also pro active with his gloverwork behind the stumps. In fact, he was also involved in the strategy making.
While Abhimanyu Easwaran is designated captain of India B, it was Pant who was actively speaking to the bowlers on what to bowl and where to bowl.
Spidey Rishabh Pant is back in red ball cricket and back with scoring runs.
Made brilliant 61 of 47 balls, his form is very crucial before going into BGT, Good to see him scoring runs, the way he used to be.pic.twitter.com/T6jX2l5yPu— Sujeet Suman (@sujeetsuman1991) September 7, 2024
Pant even had a word with pacer Navdeep Saini, who got the wicket of Dhruv Jurel on the last ball of the same over. After the chat with Pant, Saini bowled a crossed seam, trapping Jurel plumb in front of the stumps.
Former India opener WV Raman, who was in the commentary box, praised Pant for showcasing his leadership accumen.
"It doesn't matter who is the captain. Rishabh Pant is always a leader in the field. The chat he had in the break… He suggested a few things to Saini and looks like it has worked," Raman was heard as saying on air.
Meanwhile, Pant helped India B extend their lead to 240 runs against India A at stumps.
On a day on which 14 wickets fell, Navdeep Saini and Mukesh Kumar led the way for India B to take a first-innings lead of 90 after bowling out India A for 231 in 72.4 overs. In their second innings, India B lost three wickets quickly – two of which were taken by Akash Deep.
Under pressure, Pant stitched a stand of 72 runs off 55 balls for the fourth wicket with Sarfaraz Khan (46 off 36 balls) and went to get his first fifty on return to red-ball cricket. But with him and Nitish Kumar Reddy falling in the last 30 minutes meant India A got something to smile, even though India B have a big lead in hand now.
(With IANS Inputs)