Rishabh Pant Reveals That He Had Taken 2 Injections And Sedatives Before Batting In Sydney

Indian swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant played a knock for the ages in Brisbane to help chase down their third-highest fourth innings total in history and breach Australia’s fortress ‘Gabbatoir’ in Brisbane.

Coming into bat ahead of Mayank Agarwal following the dismissal of skipper Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant timed his assault to perfection and despite the fall of wickets on the other end, the 23-year-old kept his composure and ensured that he stayed till the end.

This was the second successive fourth innings knock for the ages that Rishabh Pant played within a space of eight days.

Prior to his heist in Brisbane, Pant had played a similar kind of knock on the fifth day of the SCG Test despite battling immense pain. Pant had copped a painful blow on his elbow courtesy a sharp bumper by Pat Cummins during the first innings.

He did not keep wickets for the entirety of the Australian second innings but came out to bat at No.5 on the final day after having taken injections and sedatives. Pant came in to bat at a time when India had lost their skipper within the first 15 minutes of the last day.

The southpaw showed remarkable patience as he blocked almost everything during the first 35 balls that he faced but once he got the measure of the wicket, he unleashed a stunning counterattack on the Australian bowlers, especially Nathan Lyon.

Lyon was unlucky though. He induced Pant into a false stroke on a couple of occasions, only to see Tim Paine shell both of them. Pant made full use of the lucky reprieves and hammered the Aussies, especially Nathan Lyon to all corners of the SCG.

Pant was eventually dismissed for 97 by Nathan Lyon. The southpaw, in a recent interview with Times of India, revealed that he felt that could have won the game for his team, and the failure to not do so, made him more determined to do what he eventually did in Brisbane.

“Even when I got out for 97 on the last day in Sydney, I thought I could have won the match had I batted longer. It didn’t matter that I had to take two injections and sedatives before batting. I was in a zone and didn’t want to throw away opportunities. So I ensured I was there at the end in Brisbane,” Rishabh Pant was quoted as saying by Times of India.