ENG vs IND 2018: Rishabh Pant Opens Up On His Second-Ball Six On Test Debut

Rishabh Pant has admitted he was nervous when he made his Test debut in the third England vs India Test at Trent Bridge.

A batsman would usually get off the mark in Test cricket with a quick single. And if he is a debutant then even getting off the mark is a big ask. But Pant is an exception and by a big mile. On his second delivery in Test cricket, Pant came dancing down the track and struck the ball over the straight boundary off Adil Rashid’s bowling.

Pant came into the side after replacing injured and out-of-form Dinesh Karthik and it took him just two deliveries to justify the hype surrounding him. He became the 291st Test player for India after captain Virat Kohli handed him his debut cap before the start of the match.

The Delhi wicketkeeper-batsman came to the crease at a precarious time. England had managed to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane (81) and Virat Kohli (91) to claw their way back in the game. However, the pressure did not stop Pant from playing his usual game. At the end of the day, he was batting on 22 off just 31 deliveries with the help of 2 fours and a six.

He also became the first India to open his Test cricket account with a six.

India had gone on to win the game by 203 runs. Pant failed to contribute much with the bat but impressed one and all with his glove work.

Days after the debut, Pant has revealed that the six was not a pre-meditated shot.

“I was nervous. Everyone is nervous when they play their first match. I saw the ball and reacted to it. I was not thinking of hitting it for a six. I was just playing my normal cricket,” he told reporters.

Speaking about the wicketkeeping experience against the Duke ball in England, the youngster said the time spent in England with India A helped him.

“Wicketkeeping in England is always difficult because the ball wobbles a lot behind the wicket. I have been playing for India ‘A’ since the last two and a half months in England, so it has been helpful for me in my preparation,” he said.

“As a ‘keeper, you have to wait for the outside edge. That is the only thing I can do and that is what I have learned from it [dropped catch]. It is a big challenge, but the thing is that when Bumrah bowls, he bowls with a different angle,” Pant added.

“So, sometimes we react to it. That day I reacted too much on that ball and the edge came off. I’m not saying that it was not too difficult a catch; I could have pulled it off, but it is part of the game,” he said.

He concluded by crediting his childhood coach Tarak Sinha for his meteoric rise.

“It’s been a really good experience because starting from zero is not easy. There is a struggle in everyone’s life, and there was one in mine too. All credit to my coach. He has helped me at every point of my life,” he concluded.