Test cricket. Real pressure is when you are flying a Mosquito (British combat
23 Dec 2024 11:02:54
By R Kaushik
MELBOURNE
“PRESSURE? There’s no pressure in
aircraft) with a Messerschmitt (a German fighter aircraft) up your arse!”
The charismatic Keith Miller, the legendary Australian all-rounder of 1940s and 1950s, was a Flight Lieutenant who flew numerous night missions over Germany and Occupied France during World War II. He had several close shaves during the war, when he was literally fighting for his life. Cricket, by comparison, was a slow and infinitely less demanding activity – the dashing Miller finished with 2,958 runs and 170 wickets (bowling fast) in his decade-long career spanning 55 Tests.
Rishabh Pant might not use such colourful language and he hasn’t been in the armed forces, but he must know firsthand what Miller was talking about. India’s irrepressible wicketkeeper-batter, grateful for a second chance at life after his horrendous accident two years back, has developed a new perspective towards life and the sport. If he was unfazed by adversity in the first part of his international career, between February 2017 and December 2022, he is even more equanimous now without compromising on his natural ebullience and bubbly outlook.
Cocking a snook at predictions and getting himself one hundred percent cricket-ready within 15 months of his single-car accident, Pant made a miraculous return to competitive cricket in March 2024.
aircraft) with a Messerschmitt (a German fighter aircraft) up your arse!”
The charismatic Keith Miller, the legendary Australian all-rounder of 1940s and 1950s, was a Flight Lieutenant who flew numerous night missions over Germany and Occupied France during World War II. He had several close shaves during the war, when he was literally fighting for his life. Cricket, by comparison, was a slow and infinitely less demanding activity – the dashing Miller finished with 2,958 runs and 170 wickets (bowling fast) in his decade-long career spanning 55 Tests.
Rishabh Pant might not use such colourful language and he hasn’t been in the armed forces, but he must know firsthand what Miller was talking about. India’s irrepressible wicketkeeper-batter, grateful for a second chance at life after his horrendous accident two years back, has developed a new perspective towards life and the sport. If he was unfazed by adversity in the first part of his international career, between February 2017 and December 2022, he is even more equanimous now without compromising on his natural ebullience and bubbly outlook.
Cocking a snook at predictions and getting himself one hundred percent cricket-ready within 15 months of his single-car accident, Pant made a miraculous return to competitive cricket in March 2024. Back in charge of Delhi Capitals, the left-hander made a telling statement by finishing as his team’s highest scorer with 446 runs at an average of 40.54 and a strike-rate of 155.40. Only 11 batters in the competition made more runs and he shared the record for most dismissals behind the stumps with KL Rahul (16 each).
Even without such spectacular numbers, Pant would have walked right back into the national team for the T20 World Cup in June once he showcased his fitness levels. By finding form instantly on his return from a long hiatus, he won his place fair and square, not on sentiment or emotion, and played a stellar role on dodgy New York pitches in the group stage before easing off a little when the Indians moved to the Caribbean for the business end.
Pant, like his illustrious Delhi senior Virender Sehwag, is most dangerous in the Test format even though his game seems ideally suited to the two limited-overs versions. His comeback to red-ball play was fairytale-ish, with a hundred in his first outing against Bangladesh in September. Several excellent knocks against
New Zealand meant even though India surrendered that series 0-3, there was reason to be optimistic that Pant, having rediscovered his Test mojo, would relish another trip to Australia, where he has enjoyed great success in the past.
A century in Sydney in January 2019, together with his witty retorts that stumped Australian captain and ‘keeper Tim Paine, endeared him to Australian fans and they further warmed to him when he masterminded India’s chase of 328 in Brisbane two years later with a magnificent unbeaten 89. Australians’ respect for anyone who can subjugate their heroes is immense but they both revere and admire Pant for his level-headedness, his composure and a maturity that is way beyond his 27 years.
This hasn’t been a great series yet for Pant. His counterpart at No 5, Travis Head, has had a ball but Pant has been fairly quiet, with only 96 runs from five innings. His free spirit has been stymied a little by repeated top-order collapses that have brought him to the middle before the 22nd over four times in five innings. He began promisingly enough with a nice 37 in Perth, but hasn’t kicked on from there, not so much feeling the pressure of the situation as the probing examination of a crack pace attack that gives absolutely nothing away.
Occasionally, like in the second innings in Adelaide, he has tried to hit his way out of trouble, which is quintessential Pant. But he knows India need more from him.
Maybe he will use the MCG as the canvas for another of his masterpieces.