Team India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant has urged captain Rohit Sharma to review a late decision against Scott Boland in Australia's second innings of the Boxing Day Test match. However, a seemingly unconvinced Rohit Sharma laughed off Rishabh Pant's insistence and walked away without reviewing.
Australian tailenders Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon troubled the Indian bowlers with the bat for the last wicket in the second innings on Sunday, December 29. Boland and Lyon added an unbeaten 55 off 110 balls for the last wicket. They ended the day on 228/9 with Lyon (41) and Boland (10) in the thick of things.
Watch: Rishabh Pant urges Rohit Sharma to review decision for Scott Boland
The incident occurred on the second ball of the 76th over when Ravindra Jadeja bowled Scott Boland. Rishabh Pant appealed for a caught behind and tried to get Rohit Sharma to take a review. However, Rohit ruled against it and replays confirmed that there was a clear gap between bat and ball.
Watch the incident right here:
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Jasprit Bumrah is the pick of the bowlers for India in the second innings
Earlier, Indian fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah (4-56) and Mohammed Siraj (3-66) dismantled Australia's middle order, turning the match in India's favor after the hosts had dominated the first two days. However, the Australian team lost 4 wickets for 11 runs in just 22 balls, including Bumrah's 200th Test wicket.
Marnus Labuschagne (70 runs from 139 balls) and Pat Cummins (41 from 90) balanced the innings with a partnership of 57 runs. Lyon and Boland then survived 17 overs during the evening session. Team India had a tough day on the field, making several mistakes, including dropped catches and a no-ball dismissal.
Rishabh Pant Erred while playing an attacking shot – Sanjay Manjrekar
Rishabh Pant, known for his strong Test record in Australia, was expected to be one of India's best performers in the series. However, he has been a major disappointment so far, managing just 124 runs in six innings at an average of 20.67. His highest score of 37 runs came in the first innings of the Perth Test.
Sanjay Manjrekar believes Pant cannot afford to make mistakes when attempting unconventional shots. Manjrekar stated that Pant's defense has been solid in this series but he got out while playing an attacking shot. He emphasized that risky shots should be executed well as mistakes lead to questioning.
“In this series, we have seen Rishabh Pant get out while defending many times and not while playing such shots. The shot we saw today, his defense was excellent. As Deep Dasgupta said, he was playing late and focusing on his defense. Then he made a mistake while playing an attacking shot,” he replied.
“I always believe that if you do something different, you shouldn't go wrong. When I first saw Pant in his first Tests, he used to come out like that while playing such big shots and I remember him saying then that if you play such risky shots, play them right, because that if you go out, everyone outside will wonder what you have done,” added Manjrekar.
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