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How 'Stupid' Rishabh Pant Silenced Gavaskar With His Audacious Assault On Australia

Pant in action Vs Australia [Source: AP Photos] Pant in action Vs Australia [Source: AP Photos]

In the Boxing-Day Test, Rishabh Pant played a reckless shot and threw his wicket at a crucial juncture of the contest. It was a loose shot and Sunil Gavaskar, who was on air during that time, called the Indian keeper, "stupid", for throwing away his wicket.

However, on Saturday, the same "stupid" Rishabh Pant silenced him and the entire critics with an audacious assault which has kept India in the contest. It was Pant's calculative, yet aggressive batting which has made the Indian fans believe that they can pull off a win and level the BGT Vs Australia.

Pant looked lost while playing a defensive brand of cricket in first innings

In the first innings of the ongoing Sydney Test, Pant played an innings which was contrary to his style of play in Tests. His biggest USP is the attacking game-play which no one in this Indian lineup has.

However, for some reason, he curbed his attacking instincts, and scored a gritty 40 off 98 balls. Scoring 40 runs was vital in the context of the game, but this was not a game-changing innings as Pant looked scratchy, mainly because he was told to play in a way which doesn't suit him.

All the great attacking players in Tests - Adam Gilchrist, AB de Villiers, Vivian Richards, flourished when they played their natural cricket and were not bothered about what the others  said about their cricket. Not sure who told Pant to become a defensive batter in the first innings, but that didn't help his cause as the batter looked lost in the middle.

However, something triggered inside him and we saw the flamboyant, attacking Rishabh Pant in the second innings as he stunned Australia with a game-changing assault.

How he silenced Gavaskar and brought India back in the context

On Saturday, when Pant came out to bat, India were struggling at 59/3, and needed someone to take them to a secure position. Ideally, any other batter would have gone into their shell to protect their wicket, but that's not how Pant goes about his business.

The star keeper came out with a positive frame of mind and went immediately after Scott Boland to smash him for a first-ball six. He then targeted Mitch Starc and went after the Australian weak link.

He played his usual lap shots, stepped down the track when it was needed and rattled the Australian pacers like no one else had dared to do. The moment of magic came when he smacked a six off Starc to complete a stunning 29-ball half-century, his second fastest in Tests.

Had he played according to the advice given by former cricketer and others, Pant would have once again failed. However, he listened to his instincts and because of it, India are still in the Test match, well and truly alive. He didn't utter anything against his biggest critic, Gavaskar, but shut down everyone with a knock that will forever be etched in Indian history.