Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant's poor show with the bat continued unabated as he got out for a golden duck in the third and final ODI against the West Indies at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, drawing the fans' ire for his lack of patience.
In the third ODI match against the West Indies on Wednesday, Rishabh Pant threw away his wicket while trying to send Fabien Allen out of the park, only to see his mistimed hoick land in the hands of Keemo Paul at mid-off. What made the dismissal look worse was that it came off the very first delivery that he faced
Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant's poor show with the bat continued unabated as he got out for a golden duck in the third and final ODI against the West Indies at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, drawing the fans' ire for his lack of patience.
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Hours after the match got over, his name continued to trend on social media with angry fans venting their anger out. Often hailed as the heir to legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and considering his raw talent, Pant has been given a long rope by the Indian team management. He's even used as a fix to solve the number four issue. But he is yet to justify that trust.
For the record, the 21-year-old has so far had a forgettable Caribbean tour, managing scores of 0, 4, 65, 20, 0 in the T20I and ODI series, though India won both the series.
In the third ODI on Wednesday, Pant threw away his wicket while trying to send Fabien Allen out of the park, only to see his mistimed hoick land in the hands of Keemo Paul at mid-off. What made the dismissal look worse was that it came off the very first delivery that he faced.
"Enough of babysitting the babysitter. Teach him the value of a wicket with some punishment," a fan wrote on Twitter.
Celebrated commentator Harsha Bhogle took to Twitter and wrote, "this is a shot that Rishabh Pant will want to forget but shouldn't. It should remind him of how much ability he is wasting. He is a batsman-keeper, not the other way around, so his batting must speak for him even more."
Ironically, on the eve of the match, Pant said that his focus remains just on playing a positive brand of cricket and winning matches for India. But as it turned out, he got another first-ball duck in this tour.
And not all comments were gentle, with some even saying Pant should retire before Dhoni.
Here are some other reactions:
In comparison, batting at No. 5, Shreyas Iyer showed much more composure for his 41-ball 65, thus putting more pressure on Pant for a chance in the crucial No. 4 slot.
Batting great Sunil Gavaskar had recently backed Iyer over Pant for the number four position in ODIs.
(With IANS inputs)