IND vs WI: I feel The No. 4 Position Is A Bit Up For Rishabh Pant In T20 Cricket: Wasim Jaffer

Former Indian batter Wasim Jaffer opined that wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant needs to bat at no.5 position in T20I cricket.

India defeated West Indies by six wickets in the first T20 International match on Wednesday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

India beat West Indies by six wickets in 1st T20I match

Nicholas Pooran (61) and Kieron Pollard (24*) put 45 runs together to resurrect the visitors’ innings as West Indies added 61 runs in the last five overs to muster a respectable score of 157/7 in the first innings.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan put 64 runs for the opening stand before the former departed in the eighth over to Roston Chase. Virat Kohli, who has been out of form with the bat, scored 17 off 13 balls before holing out to Pollard at long-off while attempting to loft Fabian Allen for a big shot.

Wicketkeeper-batter Pant scored a run-a-ball eight runs but couldn’t finish the game for his team as he hoicked one to get caught by Odean Smith at short fine-leg off Sheldon Cottrell’s bowling in the 15th over.

India required 38 runs from the last five overs, Suryakumar Yadav (34) and Venkatesh Iyer (24) ensured the job was done as India chased the target with seven balls to spare.

Rishabh Pant is a mercurial player when he gets going: Wasim Jaffer

Jaffer said that the Indian think -tank would have been delighted had Kohli made more runs and Pant could finish the game for them.

“If I talk about the chase, I think India would have been happier if Virat Kohli had scored some runs and Pant had finished the game. That would’ve been ideal. It did look, you know, a little bit tricky when (Venkatesh) Iyer came out to bat even though he did a pretty good job. I think Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid will be happy that these two guys finished the game for India. That’s definitely a good sign,” Jaffer told ESPNCricinfo.

“But I think with Virat not making a big contribution and the shot that Rishabh Pant played and got out… I mean, we’ve seen it quite a few times – he’s a mercurial player when he gets going. But in T20 internationals he hasn’t got going as yet as he has done in Tests and ODIs. That’s a bit of a worrying sign. Sometimes I feel that maybe the No. 4 is a bit up for him or probably No. 5 is a better position for him,” he added.

India will play the second T20I match against West Indies on Friday (February 18) at the same venue.

Also Read: IND v WI: Rishabh Pant Promoted As India’s Vice-Captain For T20I Series vs West Indies In Absence Of KL Rahul