"Rishabh Pant is a matchwinner and he very nearly made the difference in the first Test against England."
Rishabh Pant is “reinventing the game as a batsman”, observed Australia batting great and former India head coach Greg Chappell after the wicketkeeper-batter smacked centuries in each innings of the first Test against England in Leeds.
Multiple records tumbled as Pant hit 134 off 178 balls (12 fours and 6 sixes) and 118 off 140 balls (15 fours and 3 sixes) in the opening Test which India lost by five wickets on Tuesday.
Chappell said India's Test vice-captain has been playing shots that are not even in the “MCC playing manual”.
“When I first saw him, he reminded me of Adam Gilchrist...a different sort of player, of course, but...the difference it can make to a team when a wicketkeeper can bat at that level and score runs quickly,” Chappell said during a promotional event in Mumbai on Wednesday.
“The beauty is Rishabh gets runs at a very fast rate which gives you time to win cricket matches. His was phenomenal in the first Test. Some of the shots he played weren't in the MCC playing manual.”
“He is really reinventing the game as a batsman. With modern technology, the bats are very different now and you can play shots that weren't possible with the old bats. He's exciting to watch,” Chappell added.
“You never quite know what to expect from him. At any stage, he is likely to jump down the wicket to the fast bowlers or play the falling ramp shot.
"It keeps the opposition on their toes. He is a matchwinner (and he) very nearly made the difference in that game,” Chappell added.
Chappell reckoned Shubman Gill has had a good start as the Indian Test skipper even though the result in the opening Test of the five-match series did not go his way.
“It was a terrific Test match. Sadly, India didn't finish on the correct side of the ledger. There were a lot of good things for them,” Chappell said.
“Shubman Gill had a great start as a captain and as a player even though they did not get the result. Conditions were probably better on the last day than they were at any other stage of the match."
“Both Gill and the Indian think-tank would have learned a lot on what to take forward. Gill will only get better. Had the team taken more catches and the tail wagged a bit, the results could have been very different,” he added.
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