Amid Rohit Sharma-led India's loss of the third Test by 25 runs and even the Test series 0-3 to Tom Latham-led New Zealand on 3 October at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, the only name that is shinning in the dark is Rishabh Pant.
Chasing a target of 147 runs in the second innings, it was only Rishabh Pant who scored more than 15 runs as the entire star players failed to shine once again. India bundled up for 121 runs in just 29.1 overs, and New Zealand became the first side to clean-sweep India in a home series with three or more matches.
In his second innings, Pant slammed 64 in 57 balls, with nine fours and a six at a strike rate of 112.28, and tried to keep India in the game, but lost his wicket to Ajaz Patel.
Following his dismissal at 106 for 6, Indian batters fell like pack of cards.
With the series loss against New Zealand, Pant posted a cryptic message on Instagram: “Life is a series of seasons. When you're down, remember that growth happens in circles. Embrace the lows, knowing they're preparing you for the highs.”
He also shared legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's post in his Instagram story, where the 'god of cricket wrote, “Losing 3-0 at home is a tough pill to swallow, and it calls for introspection. Was it lack of preparation, was it poor shot selection, or was it lack of match practice? @ShubmanGill showed resilience in the first innings, and @RishabhPant17 was brilliant in both innings-- his footwork made a challenging surface look like a different one altogether. He was simply superb. Full credit to New Zealand for their consistent performance throughout the series. Winning 3-0 in India is as good a result as it can get.”
Tendulkar also shared the same post on X. Here's the post.
Looking at stats, between February 2021 to the current match, Rohit Sharma scored 1210 runs from 35 innings in home Tests at an average of 37.81 with four hundreds. However in last 10 innings, the Indian skipper has been six scores of less than 10 runs and two scores of less than 20, with two half-centuries.
In the same period, Virat Kohli has played 25 innings at home for 742 runs at an average of 30.91, and one century on a flat Ahmedabad deck.
Experts believe Kohli may be on the team if he keeps his fitness intact, but for Rohit, playing beyond this cycle of the World Test Championship would be difficult.
With agency inputs.
