Michael Vaughan all in praise of Rishabh Pant as the latter shell-shocked England with his maiden ODI ton during the 3rd ODI at Manchester.
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A scintillating maiden ODI century of the highest order by Rishabh Pant, along with a complete all-round performance by Hardik Pandya has helped team India lift the three-match ODI series versus England 2-1, with a thumping 5 wicket-victory at the Emirates Old Trafford, in Manchester.
Akin the second ODI at Lord’s the other day, the Indian top-order gave their wickets away cheaply, with the scorecard at one point in time reading 38/3 after 8.1 Overs. Following Rohit Sharma (17), Shikhar Dhawan (1), and Virat Kohli (17) in the dressing room was in-form Suryakumar Yadav (16) in the 17th Over as well, as India desperately needed a huge partnership to stand a chance to lift the series.
With England right on top, the tables turned, and turned without a warning, as Rishabh Pant (125* off 113) joined hands with all-rounder Hardik Pandya (71 off 55) to stitch together a 133-run stand for the fifth wicket off mere 115 deliveries, to steer the Indian ship ever closer to the arrival point.
A maiden ODI ton for Pant, and a half-century by Pandya with a career-best ODI bowling figures earlier in the day, meant that the two standout performances deserved nothing less than a sweet, satisfying victory, to end what has been a successful all-format tour for the Indian cricket team.
Michael Vaughan all in praise of Rishabh Pant
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan, following Pant’s breathtaking century, took to his Twitter handle, to eulogize the wicket-keeper for his ‘entertaining’ and ‘smart’ knock.
What a cricketer @RishabhPant17 is .. Incredibly entertaining but also very smart .. #ENGvIND
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) July 17, 2022
It is worth of a mention that Pant played second fiddle during the aforementioned partnership with Pandya, as he reached his fifty after facing 71 deliveries, thereby soaking in all the pressure of the series decider.
However, post Pandya’s wicket during the 36th Over, Pant decided to operate at the fifth gear, going ballistic especially after the seamers, including a black and blue beating of David Willey, who was smashed for 21 runs with the help of five straight Fours during the 42nd Over of the chase.
