Rishabh Pant made a strong impression at number 3 in the India vs Bangladesh warm-up match for the T20 World Cup 2024. The Men in Blue did not have their legendary number 3, Virat Kohli, playing in the match.
However, Pant’s impressive performance in the position has started speculations about Rohit Sharma’s surprise strategy in the upcoming World Cup.
India tried a new opening combination against Bangladesh on June 1. Sanju Samson and Sharma, the India captain, opened the batting for India. However, Samson failed to make a mark as the Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper was out for 1 off 6 balls. It was Pant’s turn to bat.
Rishabh Pant, who was making a comeback in international cricket after 16 months, scored 53 off 32 balls before opting to get “retired out”. He decided to leave the field by voluntarily ending his innings.
Rohit Sharma’s remark in the post-match presentation opened up possibilities for Rishabh Pant. Sharma said that he was yet to come up with a final batting line-up for the World Cup. Rohit said Pant had been asked to bat at number 3 “just to give him an opportunity”.
“We haven’t nailed the batting line-up yet; we wanted most guys to get a hit in the middle,” he added.
India vs Bangladesh
Shivam Dube could not impress much as he was out for 14 off 16 balls. On the other hand, Suryakumar Yadav was in his usual form and scored 31 off 18 balls. Rohit Sharma struggled to make 23 off 19 balls as he did not look to find his rhythm yet.
Hardik Pandya was highly impressive with the bat. Thanks to his 40 off 23 balls, India reached 182/5 in 20 overs. Bangladesh used as many as 8 bowlers in the match, and so did India. Both teams appeared to use the opportunity of a warm-up match to try their bowling strength.
Dube, who did impress with the bat, claimed 2 wickets for 13 in 3 overs. Arshdeep Singh dismissed 2 Bangladeshi batters while Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel took 1 wicket each. Bangladesh’s innings ended at 122/9 in 20 overs.
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Published: 02 Jun 2024, 10:29 AM IST