Rishabh Pant has scored tricky runs for India in Tests. Image Credits: AFP
Rishabh Pant is an enigma. Everyone knows that by now. He has his methods, and they can go either way, as they have throughout his career.
Like his methods or not, there’s no denying that Pant has repeatedly stood up in the most precarious situations in Tests. Tough runs - that is what he has scored throughout his career, often in the most bowling-friendly conditions. And the tough runs came again against Sri Lanka in Galle, fittingly, in the most Pant-like fashion.
Rishabh Pant steps up for India in Galle
India were 81/3 when Rishabh Pant came to the crease, and soon slipped to 120/5. They were still ahead in the game, but another collapse at that stage could have opened up a lot more possibilities for Sri Lanka. After all, the hosts had continued to improve as the game progressed.
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When Lahiru Kumara was introduced in the 27th over, Pant immediately stepped out and launched a huge maximum over wide long-off. The ball was slightly fuller, and the six off the first delivery ensured that Kumara would go shorter for the rest of the over. Pant was ready for it. He ducked under a couple of deliveries before using soft hands to rotate the strike.
In the second session, Asitha Fernando operated from the same end and continued with the short-ball strategy, this time with five fielders on the boundary. It was an obvious bait for Pant to take, but that is what makes him so effective despite all his unusual methods. He understood the situation and kept swaying away from the line as Asitha repeatedly went shorter early in the session.
In between, Pant kept getting on top of the bounce and rolling his wrists over the ball to keep his pull shots along the ground. Even when he did find the boundary, he made sure to target the areas down the ground, as he had earlier done against Lahiru. With no fielder stationed there, he used his feet, ran down the wicket and moved towards the leg side of the ball to free his arms and generate maximum power.
Rishabh Pant was targeted with short balls in second innings in Galle
When Lahiru returned in the 37th over with the same plan, Pant pulled one over long leg by getting inside the line. He knew Lahiru was quicker than Asitha, and taking the punt to hit over the fielder had a better chance of succeeding against the faster bowler. It was only after India had extended their lead that Pant started to become more adventurous.
In Lahiru’s next over, he heaved one over cover for a boundary before playing another tumbling pull for four two balls later. Eventually, Lahiru Kumara dismissed him, ironically with another short ball. But by then, Pant had done his job.
Around 84.61% of the pace deliveries were shorter than 10 meters, with Lahiru and Asitha repeatedly bending their backs. Pant had negotiated the same length comfortably earlier in the innings, but also knew when he could afford to be more carefree. That balance - between control and calculated recklessness - was quintessential Rishabh Pant.
The methods against spin
Rishabh Pant shot distribution vs spin in second innings
Keshara Nuwantha beat Rishabh Pant’s outside edge a couple of times early in the innings. But before one finally took the edge, Pant had already decided he needed to make a move. So he did.
In the 26th over, Nuwantha attempted a full delivery angled into Pant, who responded with a reverse sweep towards backward point. In the next session, Pant brought out the same shot off the first ball of the 36th over. After being hit for a boundary off the fuller length, Nuwantha naturally went slightly shorter.
Pant rocked back and pulled into the vacant midwicket area before playing another reverse sweep off the very next ball. He was toying with the field at this stage. That is what he does, even in the most precarious situations.
Yet, in between the calculated risks, Pant continued to trust his defence. He played for the straight balls even when several deliveries beat his outside edge. As many as 39.53% of the deliveries he faced ended in a defensive shot, either off the front or back foot. On a turning track, staying compact and playing for the straight ball is often the safest method.
So, Pant could afford to be beaten on the outside edge occasionally because he was still at the crease. He played sweep shots to 16.27% of the deliveries he faced, scoring at a staggering strike rate of 271.42. He rarely missed an opportunity to score and, in doing so, pulled India out of a tricky phase.
Rishabh Pant’s tough runs
Lately, there has been some scrutiny of Rishabh Pant’s Test dismissals, as there often is. He did not have a great series against South Africa and also endured two ugly dismissals in the warm-up fixture against Sri Lanka Cricket XI. His methods push him to either extreme - from “stupid, stupid, stupid” to “superb, superb, superb”. There is rarely anything in between.
That remains true of Pant’s Test runs as well. He has repeatedly stood up for India when they have needed him most. From The Gabba to Cape Town, Pant has delivered against the odds and in the most precarious situations.
In Galle, with wickets tumbling and India needing quick runs, he was there again. He scored 34.19% of India’s runs at a strike rate of 95.65 before they were eventually bowled out for 193. It was another innings built around those same methods that could have gone either way.
This was Pant’s first Test in Sri Lanka. The conditions here are vastly different from those in India, even if spin plays a major role in both countries. Yet again, Pant showed why he has been able to defy conventional logic and technique to succeed for so long.
Ultimately, runs are what matter. With teams increasingly preparing pitches designed to produce results, India need someone like Pant who can take the game away from the opposition. On surfaces where one good delivery can dismiss a batter at any point, the conventional approach has its limitations. Pant’s methods, meanwhile, force bowlers to think differently and move away from what works against most other batters.
There is method to his madness, even if it is difficult to see at times. He still trusts his defence and leaves the ball, as he did in Galle. It is what he does in between those deliveries that makes him stand out.
To succeed across conditions on result-oriented pitches, there has to be some genuine method behind it. Away from home, Pant averages 41.18 and has six centuries in 63 Test innings. Is it really possible to produce those numbers without a method of his own? Think about that.
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