WTC Final: Rishabh Pant amazes the crowd with his reverse scoop for a single off Neil Wagner
Amid the tough situation, Pant has continued to play his shots.
The inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) Final between India and New Zealand has witnessed some quality cricket. With the final day currently in progress, all three results are still possible. Having said that, the Kiwis are dominating and have more chance of winning the final and the trophy. Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, has been hogging the limelight for the way he has batted.
With India losing Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in the first hour of the sixth morning, all the hopes rest on Pant. The youngster looked all at sea when he walked out to the middle and was also dropped when he was on just 5. However, he has grown in confidence since lunch and has been looking to play his shots.
Neil Wagner, as he is known for, has been bowling a barrage of bouncers at the Indian batsman in the post lunch session relentlessly. But Pant is not known to get bogged down and off one of the deliveries, he took a single in the most amazing ways. The left-handed batsman had already made up his mind and soon after Wagner delivered, Pant played reverse hit off the short ball and interestingly, also managed to keep it down with a fielder in the deep.
The crowd and the commentators were absolutely amazed to see the confidence that the 23-year-old played the shot with.
Here’s the video:
Will India be able to take the game deep?
Many Indian fans hoped for the likes of Virat Kohli and Pujara to bat well on the final day. But three of their most reliable batsmen got out in the first session itself. It was up to Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant then to delay the proceedings and extend the lead for India. However, the former also got out to Wagner leaving a lot to do for Pant.
It remains to be seen now if India will be able to stretch their lead to around 170 to 180 to challenge the Kiwis later in the day. For that to happen though their lower-order should hang around a bit and Pant will have to one of the best knocks of his career.
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