‘Misleading Package’: Sanjay Manjrekar’s Intriguing Interpretation of Rishabh Pant’s Tone

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has praised wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant for his century, pointing out that the left-hander has a great defensive technique, just like legendary former captain MS Dhoni. Centuries by Gill and Rishabh Pant helped India set a massive target of 515 runs in the first Test in Chennai. The two future Indian batting stars smashed the Bangladeshi bowling with their relentless batting, continuing their good form in the long format.

In an interview with ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar said, “It’s a confusing package that we see in Rishabh Pant. In that respect, you’ll see as many dot balls in his innings as Shubman Gill’s, so he’s also prone to playing defensively, which we’ve seen a lot in the past. He’s got quite a good defensive technique, a bit like Dhoni, whose defensive technique was quite good. People talk about the leadership and the power of batting that Dhoni had, but his defensive technique was quite good, similar to Rishabh Pant’s.”

Manjrekar said Pant does not take too many risks against off-spinners and is a player who has “his own way of scoring runs and his own plans”, much like legendary opener Virender Sehwag.

“We have seen those phases but the point is that Pant plays according to the situation, sometimes depending on the mood but also very carefully in choosing the right kind of bowlers. As long as the off-spinners were there, he didn’t take too many risks. So he is the kind of player who has his own way of scoring runs and his own plan – a bit like Virender Sehwag. When India go to Australia, that’s when they really need him,” he added.

In the match, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first.

The top half of the line-up collapsed and India were left at 34/3. Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (56 in 118 balls, with nine fours) and Rishabh Pant (39 in 52 balls, with six fours) put on a 62-run partnership for the fourth wicket to get India into the game. After India were reduced to 144/6, Ravichandran Ashwin (113 in 133 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes) and Ravindra Jadeja (86* in 117 balls, with 10 fours and two sixes) put on a 199-run partnership to help India reach 376 in 91.2 overs.

Hasan Mahmud (5/83) was Bangladesh’s best bowler, demolishing the Indian top order by removing captain Rohit Sharma (6), Shubman Gill (0) and Virat Kohli (6). Taskin Ahmed also took three wickets for 55 runs.

In the first innings, Bangladesh lost wickets regularly. Shakib Al Hasan (32), Litton Das (22) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (27*) fought back for Bangladesh briefly but Bumrah (4/50) and Akash Deep (2/19) broke Bangladesh’s backbone. Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja picked up two wickets each. Bangladesh were bowled out for 149 runs in the first innings and trailed by 227 runs.

In the second innings, India again lost their leader early and were struggling at 67/3. But centuries from Gill (119*) and Rishabh Pant (109 in 128 balls, with 13 fours and four sixes) helped them reach 287/4 before the innings was declared, with Bangladesh having to score 515 to win.

Bangladesh started the run chase well, with openers Zakir Hasan (33) and Shadman Islam (35) scoring 62. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (51* in 60 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) held the innings together, while Ravichandran Ashwin (3/63) and Jasprit Bumrah (1/18) were among the wickets. At the end of the third day, Bangladesh were 158/4, with skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (51*) and Shakib Al Hasan (5*) unbeaten.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)