IND vs SL: Dinesh Karthik Lavishes Praise On Rishabh Pant
Updated - 07 Mar 2022, 05:02 PM
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Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik was impressed with Rishabh Pant’s keeping skills in the first Test against Sri Lanka. India defeated Sri Lanka by a heavy margin of an innings and 222 runs in the first Test at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium in Mohali on Sunday.
Pant missed his century in the first innings by four runs after he was cleaned by Sri Lanka pacer Suranga Lakmal on Day 1. Pant added 104 runs with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who remained unbeaten on 175.
Rishabh Pant took three catches in the second innings of the first Test
Pant pouched three catches behind the stumps to dismiss Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne and Lasith Embuldeniya in the second innings as the tourists’ innings folded up at 178 and India took a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series.
Pathum Nissanka’s catch was a brilliant take: Dinesh Karthik on Rishabh Pant
More than Pant’s batting in the first Test, Karthik was thrilled with his keeping and pointed out Nissanka’s catch as the toughest one taken by the wicket-keeper.
“I think his batting is phenomenal and we can speak a lot about it. But I think the hallmark of this Test for him personally would be how well he kept it. I think some of his catches, the Pathum Nissanka’s catch was a brilliant take, it was a hard one,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
“Whenever an off-spinner bowls into the rough a little bit and the ball is turning in, it is a hard one to take because you never know which one is going to straighten and which one is going to turn in.
“And, on top of that, if it deviates off the bat, it becomes that much harder and that’s where I like Pant because his hands are in the right place.
“When you practice close-in, you need to practice so much that your hands are in the right place. It needs to be second nature to you because you don’t have time to think.
“You need to have your instincts working better than people who do it in the outfield and for that, you need to put in X amount of hard work,” he added.
India will play the second match against Sri Lanka at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru between March 12-16.
