Soon after India lost the third Test by an innings and 76 runs against England at Headingley, Leeds, Wriddhiman Saha started trending on Twitter. Disappointed by the batting performance India's current first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant in the first three matches, the netizens began asking for Saha's recall.
Delhi cricketer Pant is having a tough time with the bat in the five-match series against the Englishmen. In five innings, the swashbuckling left-hander has only scored 87 runs at an average of 17.40, with his highest being 37.
Here's how Twitter is reacting to Pant's returns with the bat:
Ever since MS Dhoni's departure from Test cricket, Saha went on to become a mainstay behind the stumps for India. While he impressed heavily with the gloves, it was batting that started to cause problems for him.
{{/usCountry}}Ever since MS Dhoni's departure from Test cricket, Saha went on to become a mainstay behind the stumps for India. While he impressed heavily with the gloves, it was batting that started to cause problems for him.
{{/usCountry}}Eventually, which also happened to be his most recent Test, Saha was dropped from the playing XI after the first Australia-India Test late last year. Pant impressed with the bat and showed improvements with his glovework to cement his position.
Now, the fans want Saha back as Pant has been off-colour with the bat in England. Saha has played 38 Tests, scoring 1251 runs at a moderate average of 29.09. He has three centuries to his name apart from five fifties.
Meanwhile, after England levelled the series 1-1, skipper Joe Root lauded his team.
"It was a fantastic and clinical performance from the bowlers. The two big lads put loads of pressure with three maidens, and we had a really good opportunity to take wickets and we took them ruthlessly. We know we are capable of performances like this, and we have the talent, that opening stand was fantastic too. We controlled and hung in with the new ball, and we reaped the rewards," explained Root.
Root, until this Test, did not have a single century on his home ground. Now that he has gotten that monkey off his back, he expressed happiness.
"As a batter you are expected to go out and score every time and I am happy I've managed to score a few. It's been a while since I got a hundred in my home ground and I hope we can carry this form forward as a team into the Oval," concluded Root.