WATCH: Rishabh Pant unfurls his range; hits three sixes off Shakib Al Hasan in the warm-up fixture
Rishabh Pant hit three sixes off Shakib Al Hasan in the sixth over of the powerplay to provide impetus to India’s innings in the last over of the field restrictions. Pant showed his range by taking on one of the best spinners in the world for the cleaners.
After winning the toss, India decided to bat first on a tricky track, which offered some movement and looked slightly slow for batting. The Indian team opened with Rohit Sharma and Sanju Samson in what was a surprising move from the management.
The opening partnership couldn’t last long, for Sanju Samson departed after a struggling one-run knock in six balls. Rohit Sharma also played his shots after settling in but couldn’t convert the start into a big score.
However, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant stitched a formidable partnership at a brisk rate. Both looked fluent on a slow track and unleashed a range of shots against spinners to put India in a commanding position.
Rishabh Pant hits three sixes in Shakib Al Hasan’s over
Shakib Al Hasan came to close the powerplay for Bangladesh, and Rishabh Pant got an opportunity to pounce on him. He was ultra-aggressive right from the start and played his shots against all bowlers.
For his first six, Pant shuffled to his right and played an aggressive sweep off a flighted delivery by Shakib for his first maximum of the over. On the next delivery, he played a reverse sweep off a middle-stump line, and the ball sailed over the backward point for the second consecutive six.
On the final delivery of the over, Shakib Al Hasan tried a fuller length just outside the off-stump line, but Rishabh Pant went down on one knee and slog-swept it ferociously over the deep midwicket for the third maximum of the over. Pant ended the final set of the powerplay with 22 runs to put India ahead in the game.
Later, Rishabh Pant notched up a fine half-century in just 32 balls, including four boundaries and as many maximums. He retired out after completing his fifty to let other batters get some game time in the middle.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram and YouTube.