Rishabh Pant had a forgettable outing behind the stumps during the fourth ODI between India and Australia in Mohali, with his shoddy glovework costing India dearly.
The Indian fielding in general was abysmal under lights as heavy dew meant bowlers and fielders struggled to grip the ball. But Pant’s shortcomings as a gloveman came to the fore, highlighting the importance of MS Dhoni the wicketkeeper in India’s ODI plans.
Dhoni has been rested for the remainder of the series and the Indian management would be deeply worried about Pant’s keeping standards. His first major mistake came in the 39th over with Peter Handscomb having just reached three figures. He missed a straightforward stumping opportunity off Kuldeep Yadav and that mistake cost India 12 more runs.
Then when Ashton Turner, who turned out to be the match winner for Australia, was batting on 38, Pant missed a stumping chance down the leg side off Yuzvendra Chahal. Turner ultimately made an unbeaten 84 off just 43 balls to seal Australia’s victory with ease.
Chants of “Dhoni... Dhoni” at Mohali as Pant misses a second stumping... pressure! #IndvAus
— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) March 10, 2019
In the same 44th over, Pant gave an overthrow while attempting to run-out and the next ball, called for a review for a caught behind off Turner, which was duly turned down.
By that time, the Mohali crowd had turned on Pant with chants of ‘Dhoni, Dhoni’ reverberating across the ground and in the mind of Indian players. With Pant’s forgettable night behind the stumps, it is clear India need Dhoni with the gloves and as a guiding hand to help the bowlers no matter how slowly he scores his runs.
