Former India opener Gautam Gambhir was not pleased with Rishabh Pant’s dismissal for a third-ball duck during Day 3 of the second Test in Johannesburg. Gambhir feels the shot was uncalled for and that it could have possibly stemmed from the sledging incident that involved Pant and Rassie van der Dussen.
The two players had an exchange which caught the India wicketkeeper saying ‘if you have half knowledge, keep your mouth shut’, referring to the controversial catch on Day 2. Gambhir feels given Pant’s experience, he should have reacted better to the pressure situation and said the approach of chipping down the wicket to Lungi Ngidi was rather stupid than brave.
"I like it (the sledging). Humans play cricket, so obviously there will be emotions. It isn't even a sledge. Such things happen. They aren't robots, they can't just bowl and field and come back. But Test cricket is all about how you react to it and absorb the pressure," Gambhir said on The Byju’s Cricket Live show on Star Sports during the lunch interval on Day 3.
"There wouldn't have been much criticism if he played the same shot in one-day cricket. But given the situation of the game, to play a shot like this… I've always believed that there is a very thin line between bravery and stupidity. You can't call this bravery, it's stupidity."
{{/usCountry}}"There wouldn't have been much criticism if he played the same shot in one-day cricket. But given the situation of the game, to play a shot like this… I've always believed that there is a very thin line between bravery and stupidity. You can't call this bravery, it's stupidity."
{{/usCountry}}"Even if you had scored a 25-30 from here and set a 230-240 run-target for South Africa, this game would've been out of their reach. Why do you want to bring South Africa back in the game? You've played in Test cricket for so long, you should know how to absorb such pressure.
After India had lost Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara in quick succession, Pant was expected to steady the ship, but he instead decided to mow Ngidi, which ended in him getting out caught behind. Weighing in on Pant’s catch of van der Dussen, Gambhir feels it is unfair to think that the India wicketkeeper was at wrong.
"As far as Rassie's dismissal is concerned, I agree Rishabh is not at fault because there are two umpires there. If they had any doubts then, they should've referred it to the third umpire. But whatever happened today… I like it. When India come to field, I want them to respond in similar manner. How a batter reacts is entirely in his hands. It was clear today that Rishabh Pant couldn't absorb the pressure because there was no reason to play a shot like that,” added Gambhir.