India wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant, who always entertains fans with his batting in Tests, recently brought usual dose of chaos to Edgbaston during the second Test match against England when India were cruising towards a win. The incident happened during the morning session when Pant played a pull shot and missed it completely, and lost grip of his bat. It flew nearly 20 metres into the leg side and landed harmlessly, narrowly missing the fielders as laughter broke out on the field and in the stands. India defeated England by 336 runs in the same Test to equal the Test series.
Shubman Gill-led India are currently featuring in the third Test match, which is taking place at the iconic Lord's Stadium in London. Ahead of the match, Indian cricketer-turned-presenter Dinesh Karthik asked Pant about losing his bat grip, and he responded that it happens when he is in the moment.
"A lot of people while batting hold on to their bat. You seem to enjoy throwing your bat around. How does that happen? What are you trying to do for the bat to go outside your hand?" Dinesh Karthik asked India vice-captain.
"For me personally, I don't think about that, not to throw away my bat. But at the same time, you know, when I'm in the moment, it just happens with me, man. The moment happens, everything happens. I'm not too focused in making how it's happening, rather than just letting it flow" said Rishabh Pant.
Pant also responded to his batting strategy on how he decides whether to go all in against the bowler or to play a calculated defensive game.
"Generalised when I'm sitting out, I watch a few balls make a generalised plan, and then see how the wicket is playing and all. You know while sitting outside, you know how the bowlers are bowling, how they are planning how the wicket is playing. Once you get hold of that, sitting outside, then obviously playing a few balls, get the feel out of the wicket and make a basic plan to work it around" added Pant.
Coming back to the third Test match, England have won the toss and opted to bat against India. The hosts have announced their playing XI on the match eve and on the other hand, India have added Jasprit Bumrah in their playing XI in place of Prasidh Krishna.
India's Playing XI:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
England's Playing XI:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir