South African great batter AB de Villiers has posted a candid critique of Rishabh Pants fearless stance at the top of the order in the 1st Test against England at leeds, where the Indian wicket-keeper batter made centuries in both innings. Pant came storming in the first innings by smashing 134 runs off 178 balls including 12 fours and 6 sixes and took another counterattacking innings in the second innings, bashing 118 runs off 140 balls with 15 fours and 3 sixes. Though it was not enough to prevent India losing by five wickets at the end of the final day, Pant was in the history books because of his performances.
AB de Villiers’s Statement About Rishabh Pant
“He plays with extreme risk. It’s sometimes going to frustrate the living daylights out of you,” de Villiers said on his YouTube channel. “I can count 20 occasions where he could have gotten out for under 30 in both innings. But he didn’t – and that’s the most important thing. He is a player that takes it to the opposition, and 99 out of 100 times, those are your successful sportspeople.”
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“I was on the couch, going, ‘Rishabh, what are you doing? It’s not the time and place for this.’ But look at the results. That’s all that matters. It’s a huge shame they couldn’t cross the line because he deserved to be the Man of the Match,” de Villiers added.
“Lots of questions all of a sudden. I know there are a lot of media people around, writing the big headlines – ‘we need change’. I don’t think it’s time to panic yet. It is a five-Test match series,” he said.
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