"He showed a lot of character" - Bowling coach Paras Mhambrey hails Rishabh Pant for fabulous hundred

Team India’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey lauded Rishabh Pant for his splendid century on Day 3 of the Cape Town Test against South Africa. The former pacer stated that the wicketkeeper-batter’s knock got India back in the game after another batting collapse.

24-year-old Pant notched up his fourth Test ton on Thursday, smashing an unbeaten 100 off 139 balls. However, the rest of the batters, barring skipper Virat Kohli (29), failed as India were cleaned up for 198 in 67.3 overs. Pant’s century ensured India set the Proteas a competitive target of 212.

Speaking at the end of the third day’s play in Cape Town, Mhambrey hailed Pant for bailing India out of a tricky situation on a challenging surface. He said about the left-hander’s knock:

“It was a fabulous innings. It really got us back in the game. From a personal perspective, there is generally pressure on him. Obviously, in a couple of innings he didn’t get runs. But getting runs at a crucial stage for the team, that’s important. It really set the game nicely for us. Really happy with the way he played. It wasn’t an easy wicket to bat on, but he showed a lot of character over there. Really pleased.”

Pant and Kohli featured in a fifth-wicket stand of 94. At 152 for 4, India looked in a good position to set a 250-plus target. However, the visitors lost their way as their last six wickets fell for 46 runs.

“Sometimes you have to take a backseat” - Paras Mhambrey on Rishabh Pant’s defensive play

Although Pant scored at a brisk pace right through his innings, he was content defending a number of balls during his partnership with Kohli. According to Mhambrey, the youngster assessed the situation well and played accordingly. He elaborated:

“At that stage, you wanted a partnership ideally and you have someone like Virat at the other end. We wanted to stitch a nice partnership, which was going on. Sometimes, as a batsman, you have to take a backseat, assess the conditions and say what is the right thing at that stage - the way to bat in terms of going ahead for the game. In that sense, he batted very well.”

The bowling coach added that Pant shifted gears brilliantly once India started losing wickets. He said:

“Once we lost Virat out there, obviously he had to take that leading role, which he did and stitched partnerships with the tailenders. He batted really sensibly and has given us a great opportunity to win the Test from here.”

Despite Pant’s wonderful knock, South Africa are in command of the Cape Town Test. Chasing 212, they went to Stumps at 101 for 2 and need a further 111 runs to win with eight wickets in hand.