Former Australia captain Michael Clarke feels Rishabh Pant would have regretted the shot that led to his dismissal in the second innings of the Boxing Day Test more. Pant was at the receiving end of backlash from fans and former cricketers after India succumbed to an 184-run defeat in front of a record-attendance crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the Boxing Day Test. In the first innings, he lost his wicket after trying to execute a cheeky shot. The plan was there in his mind, but when it came to execution, Pant fluffed and lost his wicket.
Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, who was on commentary at that time, was livid and didn’t mince his words while reacting to the chain of events he saw unfolding right in front of his eyes.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid. You’ve got two fielders there, and you still go for that, you’ve missed the previous shot. And look where you’ve been caught. You’ve been caught at deep third,” was Gavaskar’s reaction during commentary.
In the second innings, Australia captain Pat Cummins gambled on Travis Head to find a breakthrough. Pant was tempted to take on the part-timer and went for glory. He holed it to Mitchell Marsh and opened the floodgates that marked the beginning of India’s downfall.
“I think his shot in the second inning was one he’ll probably regret even more. The situation of the game, the building of partnership, and they were batting so well together, they really were stopping Australia from winning the Test match. I don’t think they were going to win the Test. (it was) muscle memory, and he just reacted. He saw it short and tried to hit it out of the park,” Clarke said on the ESPN Around The Wicket podcast.
“He could have hit it hard but probably should have just hit it along the ground. And when you are a big player and someone that’s scored Test hundreds, and there’s an expectation, if you are getting out like that, you are going to cop criticism. There is no doubt he is a wonderful player, just shot selection, it’s the right time and right place,” Clarke added.
Pant ended the fourth Test with scores of 28(37) and 30(104), summing up his underwhelming run in Australia since landing in Perth. Overall, in the series, the 27-year-old has managed to amass 154 runs at an average of 22.00 in seven innings.
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