‘He got out that way’: Sunil Gavaskar highlights ‘the only thing’ Rishabh Pant has to watch out for

Pant has continued to hit big even when he has reached the ‘nervous nineties’ but that has led him to miss out on well-deserved hundreds.

Rishabh Pant has become the talk of the town after his three spectacular innings in his last three Tests. Whenever Pant has come out in the last few games, Team India has been in a spot of bother. But Pant has counter-attacked the opposition and put them under pressure with his batting. However, he has missed out on a hundred in Sydney and Chennai after reaching 90.

Sunil Gavaskar and Rishabh Pant. (Getty/AP)

Pant has continued to hit big even when he has reached the ‘nervous nineties’ but that has led him to miss out on well-deserved hundreds.

Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has a piece of advice for him that could improve his shot selection. Gavaskar has said that Pant should try to hit an off-spinner at long-off rather than extra cover as it decreases the chances of him slicing the ball.

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“I think he has got to play the way he reads the game. Shot selection is always the key. You have a good shot selection, you will play longer innings, you will play impact innings and that's all Pant needs to do. He is a young chap and you should allow him the fact that sometimes he might get just a little bit carried away," said Gavaskar while speaking on Star Sports.

“The only thing I will say to him is that when he is attacking an off-spinner on a pitch there is a little bit of purchase, he should try and hit him straight and not try and hit him over extra cover because with that the bat face is opening up and therefore he is slicing the ball and not quite middling it," observed Gavaskar.

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“If he is trying to hit him over long-off he will be able to middle it, but when he is trying to hit over extra cover the bat face naturally opens up, he is reaching out and therefore he is hitting the ball up in the air. He got out that way to Nathan Lyon and missed out on a hundred. He missed out on a hundred or maybe even more over here. So that's the only thing he has got to watch out for. Otherwise, he should play the way he knows," concluded Gavaskar.

Pant will again have the chance to continue his good form with the bat when India faces England in the second Test match in Chennai that starts on Saturday.