Nobody has doubters more than Rishabh Pant. People doubt him. Fans doubt him. Former players doubt him. His current coaches and in fact, his teammates. He is always mistaken for the “maturity”, a word that has a different meaning in different books.
For the people who are watching, it means concentrating more on the game instead of his stump mic works. For the fans, they need him to perform in every single match. For the coaches and his teammates, they need him to finish up the matches and would want him to stop being goofy.
Everyone has a right to have an opinion and everyone is right. However, Pant is just Pant. He doesn’t know anything else but to bat. Bat alone. Win, lose, draw, tie, he comes with the same mindset. He attacks when he wants to. He leaves when he wants to. He rarely blocks the delivery and probably considers that as an insult.
Nobody can understand what he goes through while batting. He can mis-hit millions of deliveries, still, can produce a six against the spin. He would even lose his balance and fall down multiple times and would laugh at it. You cannot read any other emotion from his face. He is just plain and madly enjoys his game or simply, he just wants to bat.
India came into this final day after ton loads of hard work. Brutal injuries, personal losses and whatnot. An inexperienced line-up, almost nobody knew what it feels like to bowl in Australia in Test cricket. They were up against the hosts who have lost a game at Gabba years before most of the players in the squad were born. Now, it was Pant’s turn to add his name to the history book.
He enters when India were looking as if they were preferring a draw. He was up against one of the best bowling attacks in the world which includes the World Number one bowler. His partner at the other end was Pujara. The man who got hurt like thousand times at thousand places all in a single innings, still, he was tiring the bowlers. The situation isn’t ideal for Pant to go for big hits.
The situation isn’t ideal for him. He could throw his wicket away just like he did when he was batting at 97 recently. He is supposed to stay there till the end, and at that time, India still would take a draw.
Australia had just come back into the game and a wicket or two could change everything. After all, we witnessed the summer of 36 just a while ago. All these should be running inside Pant’s head and much more but he just doesn’t really care. He just wants to be there, play for the team and bat just like the way he usually does. He doesn’t just know the otherwise or doesn’t want to be that guy. Of course, He is madly talented and can do wonders just by being himself.
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The only people who probably love him are the crazy stat-heads. He tops a lot of fascinating stats. The numbers are excellent for someone who is as young as him, but cricket is more than just stats and numbers.
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Watching Pant is more like having ice cream during rains. This is the best thing ever to happen but is still more like a guilty pleasure. It is not for everyone. On fasting days, it is more like having crazy cravings. He is more like your cheat meal. Something you would enjoy, but you just cannot get addicted to it because it is just too good and is just too bad at the same time. There should be a disclaimer whenever he comes to bat because You will go through a roller coaster of emotions something not recommended for everyone. Still, the adrenaline rush is just too good to leave out.
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Today, he almost threw his wicket away when he tried to dance down the crease against Lyon. Other day, Paine would have got that. Other day, Pant would’ve ended up being the headline of the critic paper, but today wasn’t that day. Today was different. Today, Pant is the hero. Today, He somehow made the right angels fall for him to give him more lives. Probably, the Spiderman he called while Australia were batting had something to do here too.
Right. Nobody is as nervous as the Indian coach Ravi Shastri when Pant goes out to bat. Nobody is as pissed off as him when he usually throws his wicket away. Shastri has been open about it and has criticised him multiple times. Yesterday, “There will be a rap on the knuckles”, he said.
“As simple as that. Because you are letting the team down, forget letting yourselves down..(..)the need of the hour is sensible cricket,” he said.
Today, the biggest bear hug Pant got was from the man himself. The hug was raw, pure and full of emotions. It wasn’t something you’d normally see, but today was different. Today was Pant’s day.
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Pant might have just produced the innings of his lifetime. India might tour Australia once again and might win many games, but nothing would make us feel this way. Gabba might host millions of Tests, but nothing would hurt the hosts more than this. Again, today was Pant’s day.
Tomorrow, Pant will once again throw his wicket away. He would go for a six when the team was needing him badly. He would edge a delivery that should’ve been left alone, He would pull a delivery that wasn’t really there. He would play all these and much more when India desperately hoping him to get a ton and save the Test.
Pant really can once again mess things up and could just become the face of trolls, but he just doesn’t care about all these. He is still a kid who loves to block all the noises when he gets on the field and go mad at the cricket ball. He just wants to play, play his natural game no matter where he is and what he is doing. Again, that’s for tomorrow. Today is Pant’s day.
No matter what he does, he will still be our guilty pleasure. Someone whom we are afraid of getting addicted to. Someone who can make us feel pretty and can take it away within minutes. He will always live on the edge and will walk on the thin line and will carry us all along his journey. The ride will be a roller coaster, of course, it is scary, but again, how can one hate the roller coaster?
