'That's the example you would like to give' - Zaheer Khan on Rishabh Pant-Hardik Pandya's partnership

Rishabh Pant’s knock against England in the third and final ODI got everyone talking. The wicketkeeper-batter and all-rounder Hardik Pandya added 133 runs to the fifth wicket partnership as the duo played crucial knocks at a time when India’s top-order lineup had failed post a struggle. Rishabh Pant ended up scoring his maiden ODI ton and remained unbeaten during the chase, which earned him accolades from former India pacer Zaheer Khan.

The partnership broke when Pandya’s power-hitting prowess came to an end as he was scalped by Brydon Carse in the 36th over for a 55-ball 71. But Rishabh Pant showed great composure and went on to get a match-winning century. Khan was mighty impressed by how Pant and Hardik Pandya batted in the second innings.

“That partnership has been a match-winning partnership. You see, on the whole, the game has been superb. It was an even contest between the bat and ball. The way England started, there was a lot of pressure. When you have such a big partnership, you do have these kinds of moments (faults). These are the things that are going to happen but what matters is the character shown by them (Pant and Pandya). To absorb pressure and to build a partnership and one of them going on to finish the game, that’s the example you would like to give to anyone who is in the lineup,” Khan told Cricbuzz.

This innings will give Rishabh Pant a boost: Zaheer Khan

More than Pandya, Zaheer Khan was impressed by Rishabh Pant, who bagged his maiden ODI ton under pressure, and led the team to a victory after the Men in Blue had failed miserably with the bat in the second game, thereby losing it by 100 runs. Khan also mentioned that Pant has been a force to reckon with in both the red ball and limited overs format.

“What he is basically building a reputation of is that ‘when I am in, I am going to finish the game for you’. So that is the kind of character that he has shown not just in white-ball cricket but also in test matches regularly, and this was his maiden century in ODIs, so this innings is certainly going to give him that boost to go on to make it a habit to get these kinds of runs. And if that happens, then the middle order firepower is going to get even more strengthened,” added Zaheer.