NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer
Sanjay Manjrekar
has lauded
Rishabh Pant
for his excellent performance in challenging conditions during India's
T20 World Cup warm-up
game against Bangladesh on Saturday.
The wicketkeeper-batter scored a rapid 53 off 32 balls, helping India set a competitive target of 183. India subsequently restricted Bangladesh to 122/9, securing a comprehensive 60-run victory in New York.
Manjrekar praised Pant for his ability to quickly assess the conditions and adapt his game accordingly.
"The pitch was slightly difficult when he came to bat. We saw
Sanju Samson
getting out after scoring only one run off six balls. After that, he (Pant) came and his specialty is that he is extremely street-smart and assesses very quickly what needs to be done," Manjrekar said on Star Sports.
Pant’s explosive innings included four fours and four sixes. Manjrekar highlighted Pant's impressive strike rate of nearly 200 on a difficult pitch, which underscored his ability to perform under pressure.
"He is a batter who scored runs at a strike rate of almost 200 on a difficult pitch. This is Rishabh Pant's specialty. His record in T20Is is very ordinary, an average close to 20 and a strike rate of 120 or lower, but we saw today what this guy can do," Manjrekar added.
Pant's T20I record includes 987 runs at an average of 22.43 and a strike rate of 126.37 in 66 matches. Despite these modest statistics, his performance against Bangladesh demonstrated his potential to be a game-changer.
Former India all-rounder
Sanjay Bangar
also commended Pant for his approach, noting his initial caution before launching into big shots.
"Everyone will talk about the four fours and four sixes he hit, but he scored only one run off his first six or seven deliveries. So the best thing was that he gave himself time, especially against the spinners. We have the notion that he plays a lot of shots against spinners," Bangar said.
Bangar further observed Pant's comfort against both pace and spin.
"Actually, his best shots are against the pacers and he gets out many times against spinners. Today he batted well against both pacers and spinners. So I feel a stability has come into his mind considering the way he batted," Bangar noted.
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