Ranji Trophy final: Rishabh Pant need not change his game - Dhruv Shorey

Dhruv Shorey, whose century rescued Delhi in the Ranji Trophy final against Vidarbha, has said Rishabh Pant’s attacking stroke-making ability need not be changed.

Dhruv Shorey, whose gritty century led Delhi’s recovery on Day 1 of the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy final against Vidarbha at the Holkar stadium on Friday, said Rishabh Pant is a ‘pure stroke-maker’ who doesn’t need to alter his game after the left-handed batsman got out cheaply once again. (DEL v VID RANJI TROPHY FINAL SCORECARD)

Dhruv Shorey’s century and his 105-run stand with Himmat Singh revived Delhi in the final against Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy (PTI)

“We both back our games. He (Rishabh Pant) is a pure stroke-maker. There’s nothing much he needs to change in his game,” Shorey told reporters after the day’s play.

On some occasions this season, the Delhi captain has gotten out while playing a rash shot and Friday was no different. He played at a wide delivery from Rajneesh Gurbani and feathered it straight to the wicket-keeper Akshay Wadkar. Pant has managed just one fifty plus score in seven games this season.

Himmat impressive

Struggling at 99/4, Shorey and Himmat Singh put on a 105-run partnership to guide Delhi to 271/6 at stumps.

READ | Ranji Trophy final: Dhruv Shorey century, Himmat Singh revive Delhi vs Vidarbha

“One has to hold one end (while batting with him). He has been playing with me for quite some time now. We started from the same school. He played a really gritty innings,” he added.

Shorey expressed confidence that tail-enders will step up to the task and guide the team to a big total. “It’s not too bad (Delhi’s current situation). Yes, we lost two extra wickets. But we can still revive. We have a long tail. We’ll see how it goes.”

Asked if batting became easy after the first session, he said: “The ball wasn’t that new, that hard. So yes, it was good out there. But still it (ball) was doing a bit towards the end part.”