‘Wicket Was Doing Too Much’: Rishabh Pant Explains Change In His Batting Approach For Sydney Test

Last Updated:January 03, 2025, 15:17 IST

Rishabh Pant had a more defensive approach during the first innings against Australia in Sydney. The wicketkeeper batter explained that the difficult conditions forced him to adjust the way he played.

Rishabh Pant was the top-scorer with 40 runs in the India’s first innings score of 185. (Image: AP)

India’s wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant revealed that it was due to the nature of the pitch that the ace gloveman decided to take a defensive approach in the first innings of the fifth Test in Sydney on Friday.

Pant who usually bats with an aggressive approach, was seen taking a more quiet and defensive approach where he was the top-scorer for the side with 40 runs off 98 balls as India was all-out on 185.

“I think in this innings, I was not in a frame of mind where I wanted to take charge of the game because the wicket was doing too much and the kind of situation we were in,” Pant said in the post-day press meet.

“I would say there might be a 50-50 chance which I could have taken early on in this innings but sometimes you have to play more secure cricket, especially the way, wicket was behaving. We knew that if we lost one more wicket here, we might lose 2-3 in quick succession. So that was the idea behind the way I was playing,” he added.

The 27-year-old has been under fire for not playing according to the situation. But he admitted that he is growing as a player and also looking to take a balanced approach when batting in the middle.

“You want to bat the way that comes naturally to you but keep evolving and trying to keep a balance between attack and defence,” he commented.

India despite disappointing with the bat finished off the day on a positive note as the skipper, Jasprit Bumrah struck in the final ball of the day’s play to get rid of Usman Khawaja. The visitors will now hope to make some significant ground the next day to get themselves back in the contest. Pant feels that their first-innings score might not be ideal but there is enough to make it a competitive affair.

“I think I wouldn’t say it’s a par score, but I think anything over 220-250 would be a par score, but still a very competitive score because of the way the ball is moving now.

“I think there’s a lot of help for the bowler. It should remain the same, hopefully for us. But I feel it was a little tough. The ball was doing off the wicket quite a bit,” he assessed.

(with PTI Inputs)

Location :

Sydney, Australia