IND vs NZ: My T20I Numbers Are Not Great But I Am Still 25 And There Is Time To Compare- Rishabh Pant Says Ahead Of 3rd Odi Against New Zealand

India will take on New Zealand in the third and final one-day international at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Wednesday, November 30. The Kiwis took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series as the Shikhar Dhawan-led Indian team lost the first match by seven wickets and the second was abandoned due to rain.

The Men in Blue lost five wickets as Lockie Ferguson dismissed Shreyas Iyer for 49 runs. After being asked to bat first, Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill started slowly, adding 39 runs for the first wicket before Gill was dismissed for 13 runs. Adam Milne dismissed Dhawan for 28 in the 13th over, while Rishabh Pant was dismissed for 10 by Daryl Mitchell. Suryakumar Yadav also failed to make an impression, as he scored just six runs.

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I Would Choose To Bat In The Top Order In T20Is – Rishabh Pant

Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant said he wants to open the batting in T20Is but prefers to bat at No.4 or No.5 in ODIs. The 25-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman admitted that his “T20I numbers are not great” but suggested that age is on his side to improve in the shorter form of the game.

“I would choose to bat in the top order in T20Is, number 4-5 in ODIs, and in Test, I am batting at 5. Yes, the game plan changes when you are batting lower down the order, but at the same time you have to bat where the team wants you to,” Pant told the broadcasters ahead of the third ODI against New Zealand.

“There is no need to premeditate in ODIs, only in T20s you need to premeditate. I don’t look at numbers, yes my T20I numbers are not great but I am still 25 and there is time to compare,” he added.

Rishabh Pant interview with Harsha Bhogle before 3rd ODI against NZ talking about rain, batting position, stats and scrutiny over T20i performance & WK drills. #NZvINDonPrime pic.twitter.com/TjOUdnPTCz

— S H I V A M ?? (@shivammalik_) November 30, 2022

Pant opened the batting for India in the shorter format on five occasions and scored only 71 runs at an average of 14.20 and a strike rate of 126.53. He struggled with the bat in the T20I series against New Zealand, scoring just 17 runs in the two games. The left-handed batter played 66 T20I matches and scored 987 runs, including three half-centuries. In ODIs, he has 855 runs, including a hundred, in 269 matches.

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