India vs England 2021: ‘What he did in last two months, no one would ever do that in a lifetime’ – Ravi Shastri heaps praise on ‘naturally brilliant match-winner’ Rishabh Pant
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India completed a stunning turnaround in the Test series to book a place in the final of the World Test Championship. After losing the first game comprehensively, the hosts bounced back to the final three games in style. England were helpless in the subcontinental conditions as they lost the final three games by some margin including an innings defeat in the final Test.
Young wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant was the one who helped India set up the monumental win with a century. In his last seven Tests, Pant has notched up five fifty-plus scores. He was also the one who led India to a memorable win in Brisbane. Coach Ravi Shastri is mighty impressed by the young lad. Shastri hails that what he has pulled off in the last two months will remain unmatched for time to come.
“At 21, I had similar success, so I can relate to what these guys have done. Yes, after IPL Pant came with a lot of baggage. He has trained harder than anyone. The results are not just for him to see but for the whole world to see,” Shastri said in a virtual press conference.
“When you have a naturally brilliant match-winner of his ability playing to the potential there is no greater sight for cricket. I think in the last two months what he has done for India, no one would ever do that in a lifetime. His keeping was outstanding,” he added.
Ravi Shastri reacts to memes on him
The Indian coach has always been in the crosshairs of the netizens for his love for a drink. No matter how India performs, good or bad, social media is always flooded with memes on Shastri. The former all-rounder is happy to put a smile on the face of thousands. He is not bothered until he is doing his job as the Indian coach perfectly.
“I would say it’s banter all the way. They do it to have fun, it’s at my expense, but okay, have a laugh yaar. How does it matter? If I drink nimbu paani (lemon water) or I have milk honey, you enjoy your drink yaar, at my expense na, when you post that kind of memes, how many people have a laugh? so many get happy, you enjoy that stuff. As long as the team does well,” said Shastri.
“So much cricket is played. It all revolves around performance, if you do well, you will get the accolades. If you don’t, you would be criticised,” he added.
Shastri hailed the increased squad size as the only positive of the bio-bubble. He asserts that not for the huge squads, youngsters like Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur wouldn’t have got the chance they got Down Under. Shastri feels it is “a good headache to have”.
“This is the most positive thing to come out of this bubble because of the bubble, you had to go with large squads. Because of the bubbles and quarantine rules, you had to go with 25-30 players. As a result, you had to dig deep and pick your best 30 players and as luck would have it, we had no choice to play every member. You found out who is good and who is not.”
“It is a good headache to have and it is something that has worked well. If you said Natarajan would play a Test match, you would have said no way. Even Washington Sundar, you would have said no way. These are things you would not imagine but circumstances make it happen. I am glad the youngsters who got the opportunity cracked it open.“
Ravi Shastri mighty impressed with Washington Sundar
Sundar has been the find of the year so far. Debuting in Australia, the rookie all-rounder has proved his prowess with the bat. In four Tests, Sundar has three half-centuries to his name while missing out on a ton narrowly twice. Shastri is mighty impressed with Sundar and the fearless cricket he plays.
“Washington Sundar has far more natural ability than I had. I think he should be batting in top-four for his state, there is no question about that. I think he should be batting in the top four, he is good enough and he belongs there. At the same time, if he can focus on his bowling, India would have a very good number six in the future. Somebody who could get you a 60-70 and then bowl for you. That was my role at number six, and I think he can do the same role and even better,” Shastri said.
“Sundar has unbelievable composure and temperament. For someone, who was an opening batsman during the U-19 days but to see that kind of body language, unfazed by the best bowlers in the world during the toughest situations, as in Brisbane and Chennai. It was unreal, this innings in the fourth Test is even better than Brisbane because you are playing at home and you have a World Championship on the line. 50 adrift from the opposition and you are batting with Pant, yes you have Axar to come in next but your objective is to get closer to 205. “These youngsters are not thinking of that, they are playing normal and fearless cricket. They are playing free cricket, and then they went on to get 360,” he added.
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Anshuman Mahapatra
(1496 Articles Published)