'Dhoni would be really proud of the way he did that stumping' - Dinesh Karthik praises Rishabh Pant's lightning quick glovework

Team India are on the verge of drawing first blood in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh after a dominant display on the fourth day of the series opener. While the bowlers did their thing for the visitors, Rishabh Pant was quite brilliant from behind the stumps. Veteran Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik drew a parallel between Pant and former Indian skipper MS Dhoni, highlighting the impact of Dhoni on the former.

India's explosive wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, whose performance has been under the scanner lately, produced a masterclass in wicketkeeping on a slow-turning track in Chattogram. The southpaw took a brilliant reflex catch to hand India their first wicket in the fourth innings and was on hand to complete a sharp stumping of his opposite number Nurul Hasan late on day four.

Veteran Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik dissected the dismissal of the Bangladeshi wicketkeeper-batter and praised Pant for anticipating the delivery that enabled him to react swiftly to complete the dismissal. 

“He idolizes MS Dhoni and Dhoni would be really proud of the way he did that stumping. The beauty about it is, when the ball is pitched closer, it can be hard to react faster. You get the feeling that the batsman is going to play the shot. But Pant was ready for the ball to miss the bat, and he was already bringing his hand towards the stump. That's why it was done at such a quick speed,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

These are the things Pant has learned by spending time with MS: Karthik

Karthik credited former Indian skipper and wicketkeeping maestro MS Dhoni for his impact on the young southpaw. The 37-year-old reckoned Dhoni's lighting quick glove work from behind the stumps had an impact on Pant, who idolizes the iconic former Indian skipper. The RCB man felt that wicketkeepers should master the skill of anticipation in order to develop their wicketkeeping skills.

"As a wicketkeeper, your action is to receive the ball whereas in this case, and why Dhoni was also special, he started predicting when he saw the ball. There was a chance that the ball was getting beaten, and they started bringing their hand the other way. That's why Rishabh Pant idolized MS Dhoni… because he enjoys him as a personality, and these are things he has learned spending time with MS. This is one such skill keepers need to keep developing,” Karthik added.