Rishabh Pant guides India A to 6-wicket win: The Indian wicket-keeper batsman was successful in finishing the innings for India A.
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During the fourth unofficial ODI of the ongoing England Lions tour of India, India A wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant scored his fifth List A half-century to seal the chase for his team as India A are now 4-0 up in the five-match series.
Pant, who came in to bat at No. 5 in the 24th over, shared an unbeaten match-winning 120-run stand for the fifth wicket with all-rounder Deepak Hooda as India A chased down 222 in the 47th over.
In which was Pant’s first match after returning from the successful tour of Australia, Pant’s outstanding knock spoke highly about the confidence which he must have accumulated from down under.
While Pant ended up scoring 73* (76) with the help of six fours and three sixes, his partner Hooda missed out on his 12th List A half-century as he scored 47* (47) with the help of two fours and two sixes. Apart from this pair, Lokesh Rahul (42) and Ricky Bhui (35) contributed to the Indian victory.
Earlier, England Lions captain Sam Billings won the toss and chose to bat. In another below par performances from the visitors, England Lions scored 221-8 in their allotted quota of 50 overs. Ollie Pope, who came in to bat at No. 6, top-scored for his team scoring 65 (103) with the help of six fours. With bowling figures of 10-0-49-4, Shardul Thakur was the pick of India A’s bowlers.
After the Test series in Australia, India Head Coach Ravi Shastri had disclosed the reason for dropping Pant from the ODI squad. Laying emphasis on Pant needing to finish games better, the 21-year old cricketer has stood tall on the coach’s expectations, at least in his first match.
With another match to go, Pant would be looking to put on display a similar performance for only that will press his case for national selections. With Chairman of Selectors MSK Prasad also not ruling out Pant’s chances of making it to the Indian squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, the upcoming matches are crucial for the cricketer.
Read some of the latest Twitter reactions on Pant below:
