Rishabh Pant’s embarrassing dismissal on day three of the MCG Test prompted mixed reviews in the commentary box.
Barely 48 hours after Aussie teenager Sam Konstas became an instant cult hero during his free-wheeling debut Test innings, Pant opted for a similar daredevil approach at the start of day three.
After India resumed on 164-5, in response to Australia’s imposing 474, Pant slogged Pat Cummins for an early boundary, and the fun and games continued soon after when he attempted a scoop shot off Scott Boland and finished flat on his back, giggling, after being struck in the midriff.
Undeterred, Pant produced an almost-identical shot next ball, only to miscue it to third man, where Nathan Lyon took a straightforward catch.
Again Pant had to pick himself off the turf, this time to make the long walk back to the changeroom.
Boland told Fox Cricket they had been expecting ramps and other trick shots from the wicket-keeper, who scored 28 from 37 balls.
“We had fielders in those positions for a reason,” he said.
Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar was particularly disappointed and vocal about the manner of Pant’s departure.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” Gavaskar said on ABC.
“You missed the previous shot, and look where you’ve been caught. That is throwing away your wicket.
“You cannot say that that’s your natural game. That is letting your team down badly.
“You have to understand the situation as well.
“He should not be going in that (India’s) dressing room, he should be going in the other dressing room.”
Nine cricket reporter Andrew Wu agreed with Gavaskar, saying: “Rishabh Pant’s dismissal was nothing short of reckless.
“He’s tried to scoop that fine but it’s ended up at deep third instead.
“Yes, that’s the way he plays, but there are less risky ways to score runs on this track.”
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan, however, had no problem with Pant’s high-roller approach, which he said was entertaining and put bums on seats.
If Vaughan was Pant’s skipper, he said his advice would be “to go even harder”.
‘Don’t get it’: Skull calls out Cummins over leftie tactics
Fox Cricket commentator Kerry O’Keeffe reckons Aussie skipper Pat Cummins missed a trick when he opened the bowling with himself and Boland against left-handers Pant and Ravi Jadeja at the start of day three.
O’Keeffe insisted Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon are Australia’s best options against lefties.
“He’s bowled the two [bowlers] least likely to get them out,” O’Keefe said.
“I don’t get it … two left-handers at the crease requires a particular bowler.”
After Pant self-destructed against Boland, Lyon continued his dominance of Jadeja by wasting little time in removing him lbw with a slider.
Reddy and willing: Indian youngster praised for debut half-century
Aussie fans probably didn’t know much about Nitish Kumar Reddy when he arrived on our shores.
And fair enough, because at that point the 21-year-old had only three T20 internationals to his name.
But we’ve now seen enough to say this – there are worse Test No.8s getting around.
After scores of 41, 38 not out, 42, 42 and 16 in the first three Tests – plus a few handy wickets with his medium-pacers – the right-hander looked rock-solid from the get-go after arriving at the crease on Saturday.
It was only a matter of time before he was celebrating his maiden Test half-century.
Adam Gilchrist tossed up an interesting stat on Fox – Reddy has the lowest play-and-miss percentage of any batter in this series.
Perhaps that’s because, as revealed earlier by Gavaskar, he spent most of his formative years as an opening bat.
Meanwhile, India’s No.9 in this innings, Washington Sundar, is no mug in his own right.
He arrived at the MCG with a Test batting average of 48.37 from his first dozen innings.
On 18, he survived a bizarre edge to Steve Smith off Mitchell Starc while attempting a one-handed leg glance.
“That’s the second-weirdest shot I’ve seen today,” Mark Waugh quipped on Fox Cricket
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