Virat Kohli Praises Pant’s Batting in Third T20I

21-year-old Rishabh Pant is the Indian team’s first-choice wicketkeeper for the ongoing West Indies tour 2019. He is in the position of Mahendra Singh Dhoni who is currently taking a two-month break after the ICC Cricket World Cup. 

During the first two T20I matches, Pant failed to contribute runs to the team. Despite India won the matches, he met a lot of criticisms because of his poor performance. Some Twitter users fired at him that he should not dream of being the next MS Dhoni and that he didn’t belong in the big stage. 

The young wicketkeeper-batsman revealed that he was frustrated at his failure during the matches. “There are various times that I get frustrated when I don’t get the runs. Then I think what different things I could have done to perform. There are times when I take the right decision and even then I am not able to perform. It happens in cricket and is part and parcel of the game,” Pant added that in spite of that, he always focuses and gathers confidence to perform well.

On the third T20I, Pant played brilliantly as he scored an unbeaten 65 off 42 balls that helped India win. He also partnered with team captain Virat Kohli, scoring 106 runs. At the end of the match, the live score showed that India won by 7 wickets, leading 3-0. 

Kohli praised Pant’s batting in the third match. "It was a really good performance from Pant in the series. For the first two games, he was disappointed that he didn't get any runs. He was playing really well, hitting the ball well but that's how T20 cricket goes. Sometimes, you don't have the rub of the green," said Kohli.

He added that he’s looking forward to his performance in the future like what he showed in the match. 

The Indian Cricket Team and West Indies will face for their first ODI at Providence Stadium in Guyana. Cricket odds for the upcoming matches can be found in different betting sites.