Rishabh Pant smashed 28 off 16 balls before being dismissed by Nathan Lyon. (AP Photo)India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar said that Rishabh Pant’s fearlessness is something that the team would not want him to lose while stating that he could have done better after getting his innings off to a typically flying start. “When Rishabh Pant walked in we were 260-odd. Immediately he released the pressure and gave us those quick 30-35 runs,” he said. Rishabh Pant smashed 28 off 16 balls before being dismissed by Nathan Lyon.
“Once he had put us in that position, we expected that with time, with a better approach and calculation, tactically he could have done better. But you don’t want to take the fearlessness away from him otherwise. Hitting against the turn and getting those boundaries are high percentage shots. Those are the shots that many courageous players have played,” said Bangar in the press conference after the day’s play.
When asked if Pant needs to relook at certain aspects of his batting, Bangar replied, “He is a pretty mature player. He is capable of playing both games. He has another aspect to his game and for somebody who is just starting his career, it is an exciting prospect to have.”
Bangar also said that the lower order needs to show “more application” “We were expecting atleast 25 runs. That’s an area where we are continuously looking to improve. And we hope the lower order, especially number 9, 10 and 11 show more application than they did today,” said Bangar. He was also of the opinion that Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane had started this series well and that they had batted in some very difficult conditions in South Africa and England.
“One needs to understand that the margins in those games have been very, very slim. Right from Cape Town to the Oval, the margins of defeat were very small. We have put ourselves in those commanding positions. Unfortunately we couldn’t close those but as a team probably what we feel is that we have always been very competitive. Now it is about crossing the line,” he said.
