IND vs SL: Gautam Gambhir Defends Rishabh Pant On Missing Hundred, Says "Centuries Give You Headlines, 90's Give You Series Win"

Cricket commentator Gautam Gambhir defended Rishabh Pant on missing his century in the ongoing IND vs SL 1st Test. Pant played an astonishing 96-run knock on Day 1 of India vs Sri Lanka 1st Test. The left-handed slammed a few sixes and boundaries to showcase some hard-hitting batting during the match.

However, Rishabh Pant got out at 96 on delivery by Suranga Lakmal, missing his century by 4 runs. He missed a pace delivery by Suranaga, that went on to hit the bails. During his knock, the wicketkeeper-batsman shattered 4 sixes and 9 boundaries. He also helped India to move towards a good total on Day 1 of India vs Sri Lanka 1st Test.

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That Is What You Call Smart Cricket: Gautam Gambhir Lauds Rishabh Pant

While speaking to Star Sports, Gautam Gambhir said that Rishabh Pant played smart cricket by smashing big shots before the introduction of the new ball.

“What mattered to me was the manner in which he played the second phase of his knock. That is what you call smart cricket. He knew that there weren’t many overs left for the new ball to be introduced. And their premier fast bowler was injured then.

“That is why he chose to attack the left-arm spinner and the off-spinner because Karunaratne wouldn’t have brought his fast bowlers then. So that was smart cricket for me because he assessed the conditions and made most of the opportunity to put India in dominant position. So those second half of his knock was very important to me,” Gambhir said.

Although Rishabh Pant missed his century, Gambhir defended him by saying that centuries might give you headlines but 90’s win you series. He also gave the example of MS Dhoni’s knock in the ODI World Cup 2011 final.

“The stats that you showed right now, it shows that centuries give you headlines, 90s give you tournament or series win. Because those 90s helped you in Sydney and Brisbane and helped you in winning the series. And this same 90 that helped MS Dhoni win the World Cup,” the former India opener further said.

Meanwhile, India has reached a dominant position in India vs Sri Lanka 1st test. During the 1st session of Day 2, India reached 447-6. Earlier, Virat Kohli scored 45 runs for the team while Hanuma Vihari scored 58. Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin also reached their half-centuries.

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