‘Good experience watching football’ – Rishabh Pant catches up England vs Germany Euro 2020 Round of 16 clash

Rishabh Pant, the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, recently played in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. The southpaw is next set to take part in the five-match Test series against England that starts in August. Amidst the one-month break, the left-handed batter from Uttarakhand decided to watch football.

On Tuesday, June 29, Pant went to the Webley Stadium where he watched the Round of 16 clash between England and Germany in the Euro 2020. England defeated Germany by 2-0 and booked their place in the quarterfinal.

He posted a few pictures to show his delight while watching the match. Pant wrote on Instagram, “Good experience watching football.”

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A post shared by Rishabh Pant (@rishabpant)

Pant had a topsy-turvy time in the WTC final that India lost by eight wickets. In the first innings, he could manage only four runs before Kyle Jamieson accounted for his wicket. It’s pertinent to note that Jamieson went on to become the Player of the Match for his five-wicket haul in the first innings.

As far as Pant is concerned, he got 41 runs off 88 balls in the second innings. But he got out in an attempt to loft Trent Boult over the mid-on region. Pant’s dismissal brought about a collapse as India folded for 170 in their second innings, setting the Kiwis a modest target of 139 to chase down.

After India’s defeat, Sachin Tendulkar, the former Indian cricketer, reckoned that the batters, including Pant, could have been a bit more circumspect. The Master Blaster said that India had every chance of putting pressure on the Black Caps.

“Rishabh tried to play shots and change the momentum so that if some runs could be scored, we could have given them a chance to bat, our bowlers a little more overs. But India lost wickets and the game was decided in the first 10-15 overs. If we’d had a partnership there, we could have been putting pressure on them,” Sachin said.

Pant has been a revelation for Team India since the 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy. After the match-winning knock at The Gabba, he found his way back into the ODI and T20I teams as well. He also led the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the first leg of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL).