Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra (Image Credit: Twitter)

Former India batsman Aakash Chopra calls out Rishabh Pant’s approach on Day 6 of the WTC Final against New Zealand as an indication of the youngster’s “belief in his skills against the swinging ball”. He wonders if Pant was “trapped in the cage of his own reputation” as the southpaw came out swinging for fences in India’s second innings despite losing wickets at the other end.

Aakash Chopra pointed out Pant, on multiple occasions, skipped down the track to hit the Kiwi seamers, an approach seldom seen from the young batsman who likes to hit more often while staying near his crease; of those, he connected a few but missed many. Pant, who was India’s highest scorer in the second innings, was also given a life early on in his knock when dropped in the slips.

Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant (Image Credits: Twitter)

“Pant’s approach on the final day was either a reflection of his belief (or lack of it) in his skills against the swinging ball, or perhaps he was trapped in the cage of his own reputation. We have seen him do all sorts of unbelievable things with the bat. Who would dream of reverse-scooping James Anderson in Tests or Jofra Archer in white-ball cricket?” Aakash Chopra wrote in his column for ESPNCricinfo.

“Still, we had never seen Pant dance down the track to fast bowlers, even in white-ball cricket. He prefers playing from the crease, or going further inside the crease. So his stepping out felt a little odd.

“Was he not told at lunch that his methods weren’t aligned with what the team wanted? Or was the plan indeed to stay aggressive, which meant the batters needed to find their ways to accumulate runs in trying conditions?” he added.

Pant has allowed India to hope and believe: Aakash Chopra

Although Pant’s approach, which eventually brought his downfall, on Day 6 may not be greeted with all consensus, Aakash Chopra reminds everyone that it this modus operandi with which the left-hander helped India draw the Sydney Test and win the Brisbane Test.

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The 43-year-old former commentator hails Pant for making the team and the fans believe following his heroics in Australia and the century at home against England. He has also observed that Pant has matured in the balls and the bowlers he wished to target and isn’t reckless anymore.

Rishabh Pant, ICC World Test Championship
Rishabh Pant (Image Credits: Twitter)

“Pant has allowed India to hope and believe ever since he made it back into the Test side. The innings in Sydney was full of bravado. The one that followed, at the Gabba will go down in history as one of the finest by an Indian batter in the fourth innings of a Test match. Pant’s century against England was about controlled aggression – an innings of a man coming of age in Test cricket.”

“He had started leaving a lot of deliveries alone, stopped playing against the spin or swing, and showed how much damage-controlled aggression can do. He was not only India’s version of an Adam Gilchrist-like keeper-batter but also allowed India to field five bowlers without worrying too much about their batting depth,” Aakash Chopra further stated.

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