Twitter erupts as Rishabh Pant smashes whirlwind fifty against England in the 2nd ODI
Rishabh Pant was playing his first ODI since February 2020.
There is absolutely no stopping Rishabh Pant at the moment. After a tough 2020 that saw him lose his place in the playing eleven of the team across formats, Pant has started 2021 on a stunning note. He starred in the Test series against Australia and England. The form in the Tests saw him earn a recall from the T20I and the ODI teams for the ongoing series against England and he has made the most of it.
The southpaw registered decent scores in all the four T20Is he played before being benched for the first ODI. He earned a recall for the ongoing second ODI in absence of Shreyas Iyer and has grabbed the opportunity with both hands. The ongoing second ODI was Pant’s first ODI since the one against New Zealand in February 2020 and he made the most of it.
India were in a precarious position when Pant came out to bat as they had just lost the wicket of skipper Virat Kohli with just 158 runs on the board in the 32nd over. From thereon, Pant played a blinder of an innings to lay the foundation for India’s big total. He slammed 77 off just 40 balls with the help of 3 fours and seven sixes to put India on top.
Rishabh Pant’s fiery fifty:
After starting cautiously, Rishabh Pant hit boundaries at regular intervals and took almost all the English bowlers to the cleaners to score his second ODI fifty in 17 games. It took him only 28 balls to reach his fifty. He also shared a 113-run stand with KL Rahul before returning to the pavilion in the 47th over.
After Pant’s departure, the Pandya brothers – Krunal and Hardik – played fine cameos to help India finish their inning on a mammoth 336 for 6. Apart from Pant, skipper Virat Kohli scored fifty too while Rahul top-scored with 108. Hardik, on the other hand, slammed 35 off just 16 balls while Krunal scored an unbeaten 12.
Leading the series 1-0, India will be looking to win the ongoing game to clinch the three-match series with a match remaining. Meanwhile, the cricketing fraternity was quick to praise Pant for his whirlwind innings.
Here are some of the reactions:
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