Team India all-rounder Rishabh Pant threw away his wicket again with one of the most controversial knocks during Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test against Australia. Rishabh Pant's dismissal drew criticism from former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar, who was left fuming and termed the knock “stupid”.
India resumed their innings at 164/5 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday, December 28. India relied on Rishabh Pant to stabilize the innings in the morning session. However, Pant made a poor decision in trying to take on Scott Boland, leading to his dismissal and leaving India in deeper trouble.
Watch: Rishabh Pant's dismissal while playing a first from Scott Boland
Rishabh Pant attempted a round shot over fine leg to counter Scott Boland in the 56th over. However, he miscued and got a lead that went straight into the hands of Nathan Lyon at third man. Pant departed for 28 off 37 balls, leaving India to struggle to 191/6 from a 283-run deficit.
Pant tried the same shot earlier but was body-slammed and fell to the ground. The southpaw has struggled with form in the current tournament and is yet to score more than 30 runs in any innings. Captain Rohit Sharma defended Pant, saying it was unfair to judge him on just three Test matches.
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Stupid, stupid, stupid! You have two players there – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar expressed his frustration on air after Rishabh Pant's poor shot selection. Gavaskar criticized Pant for not respecting the match conditions and called his actions “stupid”. He pointed out that Pant ignored the presence of two players and repeated a risky shot, although he missed it earlier.
“Stupid, Stupid, STUPID! You've got two players there and you're still going for it. You missed the previous shot and look where you got caught. That's throwing away your wicket,” Gavaskar said during commentary on ABC Sport.
“You can't say that's your natural game. I'm sorry. That's not your natural game. That's a stupid shot. That means you're letting your team down. You have to understand the situation as well. He shouldn't go. in that dressing room (India), he should go to the other dressing room,” he added.
Pat Cummins knew he had the field right there – Kerry O'Keeffe
Former cricketer Kerry O'Keeffe and Australian women's captain Alyssa Healy praised Pat Cummins for his tactical captaincy that led to Pant's dismissal. Healy added that the batting was risky with those field placements, despite Pant not intending the ball to reach Nathan Lyon.
You feel Pant was placed there for such a shot. They also had the two deep (fielders) on the leg side, fine leg and square back anticipating that,” O'Keeffe told Fox Cricket.
“Obviously Rishabh didn't want the ball to go to Nathan Lyon, but with two on the leg side it's a risky shot,” explained Healy.
“Pat was smiling, he knew he had the pitch right there,” O'Keeffe concluded by saying.