ENG vs IND 2018: Twitter Slams Rishabh Pant For Conceding 23 Byes

Rishabh Pant once again dominated the social media on Thursday. But this time it was for the reasons he would have definitely liked to avoid as he had a day to forget on the opening day of the fourth England vs India Test.

Just a few days ago, Pant was all over the news for all the right reasons.  Pant made his Test debut in the third match, replacing out-of-form first choice Dinesh Karthik and had a good game behind the stumps. The 20-year-old took seven catches and made 24 and 2 with the bat. In a stunning display of confidence the left-handed batsman hit a six off just his second ball in Test cricket, off Adil Rashid.

However, on Thursday, he made it to the social media for all the wrong reasons. In conditions which were perfect for swing bowling, the youngster struggled with the wicketkeeping gloves. As a result, he ended up conceding as many as 23 byes. He also dropped Jos Buttler but fortunately it did not cost India much. And Twitter was quick to react to it.

But while some slammed him for the performance, some leapt to his defence. Here are some of the reactions:

Team India seem to be missing a reliable hand behind stumps like @Wriddhipops …23 byes for Rishabh Pant..not good on your CV as a keeper…got to make his bat talk to overcome all of this.#INDvENG #ENGvIND

— G. S. Vivek (@GSV1980) August 30, 2018

Rishabh Pant needs to work on his wicket keeping technique. Horrible horrible technique he has. Else Saha would out kick him easily. #EngvInd

— Bharat Jain (@EdgedAndGone) August 30, 2018

https://twitter.com/msidhant/status/1035203970321371137

While Sam Curran has tried to play like Ian Botham why has Rishabh Pant kept wickets like Kamran Akmal? 23 byes!?!? #ENGvIND

— Budhaditya Roy (@budhadityaroy) August 30, 2018

Rishabh Pant ~ I Love You…

Girlfriend ~ You Are Lying, You Don't Even Miss Me…

Rishabh Pant ~ Baby I Miss You More Than I Miss Catching Balls Down The Leg Side…#ENGvIND

— Babu Bhaiya (@Shahrcasm) August 30, 2018

Rishabh Pant is having a tough time on his right side. Way too many extras conceded #ENGvIND

— Sriram (@SriramARR) August 30, 2018

https://twitter.com/josh_winterton/status/1035211469225439232

Return back @Wriddhipops as soon as possible.
The technique of Rishabh pant is totally waste in terms of wicket keeping.
Saha continued to save more runs behind the stumps but rishabh not!
That is the successful point that saha have ..

— Tanweer Hasan (@tanweerhasan264) August 30, 2018

At the same time, there were some who defended and praised Pant:

Spare a thought for Rishabh Pant, had a trying day behind the stumps. Scorecard says 22 byes but most of them wasn't really his fault. All part of the learning curve though #ENGvIND

— Deep Dasgupta (@DeepDasgupta7) August 30, 2018

Rishabh Pant has been excellent as a wicketkeeper. The ball is swinging before it reaches him and he still has managed to stop runs and also caught well. There was one chance but that was tough, anyone would have dropped that! Well done @RishabPant777!! ?? #ENGvIND #INDvENG

— Shiv RKVian ?? (@itsShivam18) August 30, 2018

On a day like today, stats can be misleading. If you merely look up the number of byes, you'll likely think Rishabh Pant has had a shocker of a day. But, you need to have watched him in action to appreciate how good he was, especially when the ball moved late #ENGvIND

— Arun Venugopal (@scarletrun) August 30, 2018

To all who criticising @RishabPant777 out there
I bet none of them had watched the match live..
All byes were so tough to grab
He put all of him save all those#EngvInd #RishabhPant

— CR (@imcr_chandu178) August 30, 2018

Tough day behind the stumps for Rishabh Pant, but he has kept much better than the scorecard says.

— Shashank Kishore (@captainshanky) August 30, 2018

Coming to the game, India finished the day in the driver’s seat. Asked to bowl first, India bowled out England for just 246. At one stage, India had reduced the hosts to 86 for 6. However, a 78-run knock from Sam Curran helped England recover and post a respectable total. Jasprit Bumrah starred with the ball, picking up three wickets while Mohammed Shami, R Ashwin and Ishant Sharma picked up two apiece.

In reply, India finished the day on 19 for no loss.