Rishabh Pant’s energy behind the stumps was on exhibition during New Zealand’s first innings in the ongoing second Test at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium.
The 27-year-old wicketkeeper is often seen helping his bowlers make certain adjustments in terms of line and length, however, he was left gobsmacked when his advice to Washington Sundar backfired and was cashed in by New Zealand’s lower-order batter Ajaz Patel.
The incident unfolded on day one when Ajaz Patel was at the crease and Team India were looking to mop up New Zealand’s tail. Pant advised Washington Sundar to pitch the ball “slightly fuller” and outside the off-stump.
“Washi (Washington Sundar) aage daal sakta hai (You can pitch it up). Thoda bahar daal sakta hai (Can bowl a bit wider),” Pant advised Sundar.
However, Patel was up to the task and he executed an aerial shot down the ground for an eye-catching boundary.
Patel’s pre-emptive strike left the Indian wicketkeeper gobsmacked and he was quick to jump into defence mode. “Yaar mereko kya pata issue Hindi aati hai,” Pant said in his defence.
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However, Patel didn’t last too long and was cleaned up a few deliveries later by none other than Sundar. Sundar finished with figures of 7/59 in the first innings to help India restrict the Blackcaps to 259.
India Playing XI:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah
Bench:
Axar Patel, Dhruv Jurel, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
Support Staff:
Gautam Gambhir, Abhishek Nayar, Ryan ten Doeschate, T Dilip, Morne Morkel
New Zealand’s Playing XI:
Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William ORourke
Bench:
Kane Williamson, Ish Sodhi, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry
Support Staff:
Gary Stead, Luke Ronchi, Shane Jurgensen
