India Vs England, 1st Test: ‘Happy With Pant But He Needs To Be A Little Sensible And Put Team First’ Says Cheteshwar Pujara

Pant got out in the 90’s, but definitely not nervous. India ended Day 3 at 257/6 after a disastrous start to the first innings. Rishabh Pant, Pujara salvage team’s score, but Pant’s batting still a matter of concern? See what Pujara had to say.

(File Photo/ Getty Images)

Chennai: India vs England 1^st Test, Day 3 ended with India managing to reduce the lead but the trouble hasn’t ended yet for India. Currently, Ashwin and Sundar are at the crease who have been battin for 16 overs together. Earlier in the Day, India lost four quick wickets under the score of 75. India was in a spot of bother when Rishabh Pant walked in to bat with Cheteshwar Pujara. Pant did not take long to settle down and took the attack to the opposition. He did not let the young left arm spinner Jack Leach settle down as Pant began attacking him early on in his spell. Pant got out playing an expansive shot over extra cover. He got caught in the deep trying to heave Dom Bess, a certain shot which could have been avoided, especially in the presence of a deep extra cover fielder. Pujara opened-up about batting with Pant and the wicket-keepers style of batting.

Pujara said: ““That is his natural game, can’t control it much because if he gets too much defensive he can get out then also. It is good he plays his shots. But at times he has to be very selective what shots to play and what not to, in what situation he can take the risk and where he has to realize that he has to stay at the crease. The more he plays, the more he will learn.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🗣️🗣️ ‘I love batting with <a href="https://twitter.com/RishabhPant17?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>@RishabhPant17</a>.&#39;<a href="https://twitter.com/cheteshwar1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>@cheteshwar1</a> speaks about how much he enjoys batting with the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamIndia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>#TeamIndia</a> wicketkeeper-batsman. 👌👌 <a href="https://twitter.com/Paytm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>@Paytm</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvENG?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>#INDvENG</a> <a href="https://t.co/5aiF4aJhSx" rel='nofollow'>pic.twitter.com/5aiF4aJhSx</a></p>&mdash; BCCI (@BCCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/BCCI/status/1358405482377957376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>February 7, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Pant played a crucial innings of 91 from 88 balls. His partnership of 119 runs with Pujara helped the Indian score, but not too much. He hit five sixes and nine fours in his innings. Pujara who likes Rishab’s game-play said that the wicket-keeper needs to be “sensible” at times when the team requires him to stay at the crease. But Pujara showed confidence in Pant and said that he will improve with time. “He has done that most of the times. There are times when he gets out and looks ugly,” Pujara was perhaps referring to the way Pant got out on Day 3.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">That&#39;s Stumps on Day 3 of the first <a href="https://twitter.com/Paytm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>@Paytm</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvENG?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>#INDvENG</a> Test! <br><br>9⃣1⃣ for <a href="https://twitter.com/RishabhPant17?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>@RishabhPant17</a> <br>7⃣3⃣ for <a href="https://twitter.com/cheteshwar1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>@cheteshwar1</a> <br>4⃣ wickets for Dom Bess<br><br>Scorecard 👉 <a href="https://t.co/VJF6Q62aTS" rel='nofollow'>https://t.co/VJF6Q62aTS</a> <a href="https://t.co/adDpEVlFIu" rel='nofollow'>pic.twitter.com/adDpEVlFIu</a></p>&mdash; BCCI (@BCCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/BCCI/status/1358381125450625024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>February 7, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Nonetheless, he still believes that Ashwin and Sundar can close-in on the England’s score. Pujara said that Day 4 will be very crucial for Team India.