 "Dinesh Karthik translated what Rishabh Pant said to himself after playing those shots. Image: SkySports")
Rishabh Pant was back doing what he does best, playing a high-risk game. As India tried to build a strong second-innings lead against England on Day 4 of the first Test match , Pant’s approach left the commentators and even himself a little confused.
At the time, Pant was batting alongside KL Rahul, who was calm and solid at one end. Rahul had played over 150 balls and was steadily moving towards a well-earned hundred. But at the other end, Pant was playing shots that didn’t quite match the situation.
India had already lost a crucial wicket in the form of captain Shubman Gill early in the day. When vice-captain Rishabh Pant came out, a more measured and composed knock was expected of him. However, he was walking a thin rope that separated genius from madness.
DK translates Pant’s self talk
A small moment during the live coverage gave everyone an interesting look into Pant’s mindset. Michael Atherton, Dinesh Karthik, and Nasser Hussain were in the commentary box when a stump-mic clip was played. It captured Pant talking some sense to himself after one of his risky shots.
Michael Atherton: Let’s have a listen (Pant’s stump-mic video plays). You can translate exactly for us, DK, given our inability in Hindi.
Dinesh Karthik: First up, he said to himself, if I play with a straight bat, I can still middle it. Don’t try to do too much. He’s almost talking himself into saying he doesn’t need to do anything out of the ordinary. He’s pretty disappointed with what he did, but I hope he listens to himself.
Michael Atherton: I mean, it’s interesting, isn’t it? Because it implies that he’s played so much by instinct that instinct just takes over no matter what he’s telling himself to do.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsEarlier, DK had described the contrast between Pant and Rahul’s innings as “Classical music at one end, hip-hop at the other.” However, after that Pant-to-Pant chat, the Indian wicketkeeper-batter started batting maturely keeping the conditions in mind.
At lunch, India are 153/3 and have a lead of 159 runs. Rahul is unbeaten at 72 off 157 balls, and Pant is on 31 off 59.