He may not regret missing a hundred runs by a single run, but he will regret the disaster his wicket caused and the fact that it put India on the verge of a Test match in Bengaluru.
Pant’s inner decision :
Rishabh Pant may lament about the sprint that vanished. His departure caused a collapse, not because he missed a milestone or extended his undesirable trend of leaving in the 90s (his eighth in Tests). It wasn’t his fault, but it was the exact time when the game’s dominance changed.
Minutes before teatime, just when India was gaining momentum and Pant was shifting into the sixth gear of destruction, the drop came.
He uncorked a stroke ten balls earlier that was so fierce that it felt like India was slicing New Zealand’s soul. To find swing with the new ball, Tim Southee delivered a full ball slightly outside the off-stump. Only the cracking whiplash of a batswing uncorked from Pant’s velcro wrists was visible to the bowler. It’s also possible that he didn’t witness the shot at all, just realizing from the sound that it had traveled light years.
The veteran from New Zealand would have questioned why Pant chose him for his most spectacular strokes. Pant gave him the flattest six imaginable during the first session, leaving a crimson dent on the wall close to the sight-screen. Pant’s potential to create counterpunching knocks, the ability to process the flow of the battle and redirect in the direction he wants to continue to wow.
Suffering from Injury :
After suffering an injury to his surgically repaired knee, there were concerns in the morning about whether he would bat at all. However, the anxiety was alleviated when he was seen jogging while wearing a blue brace on his knees and performing throw-downs. The audience’s spirits were raised when he walked in. He used a standard rope-a-dope knock to keep them on the edge of their seats for the next three hours. He didn’t try to hit every ball off of the ground, as was the case with the majority of his counterattacking masterclasses. Although he has a vague idea of what a right ball is, he rarely does and instead waits for the right ball at the right moment. He locates hittable balls that other batsmen protect.
He simply maneuvered it through slip and gully when Southee—oh poor Southee again!—tried to trap him with a short of length ball outside the off-stump. A single four did not trigger a chain reaction of numerous others. He waits for the right opportunity to strike. He has a discretion that isn’t given enough credit. He didn’t try ramps or reverse sweeps early in this inning. He only did this once, when he was 75 and reverse-swept Rachin Ravindra.
However, the allure of left-arm spinners is too strong for him to resist. Twice in three balls, Pant transported Ajaz Patel into the upper tiers of the stadium, causing him to pain and complain. The visitors made pointless tactics to restrict him after being left reeling by two lbw cries that were both referred in vain. He was asked to cut the spinners after they had positioned three men behind point. He accepted the challenge and cut Glenn Phillips to the right of backward point instead of retaliating.