Rishabh Pant is box office. Watching him bat can be the most enthralling or frustrating experience ever, and thankfully for Indian cricket fans, yesterday was the former. Pant sizzled with a maiden ODI century as India defeated England by five wickets to register a memorable 2-1 series win. It was India's only third bilateral ODI series win in England as captain Rohit Sharma joined legends Mohammad Azharuddin and MS Dhoni in an elite list, and in the series-decider, it was Pant who led from the front with a scintillating century, one that helped India recover from a tricky position of 72/4 and go over the line.
Along with Pant, Hardik Pandya dished out a brilliant all-round show picking up four wickets and scoring an entertaining 71 off 55 balls. But in the end, the Pant's show overshadowed everything else. With India moving closer to achieving the target, Pant inflicted a brutal assault on David Willey, creaming the left-arm quick for five boundaries in an over. And once he reverse-swept Joe Root for the winning runs, it was jubilation for the Indian fans all around.
Pant was congratulated by the England player, with Jonny Bairstow even hugging the India youngster for his epic knock. With emotions running high, as Pant and his partner Ravindra Jadeja were making their way back to the change room, it was evident that all eyes were on the India wicketkeeper batter, including that of the cameraman.
The camera followed every movement of Pant, to an extent that he asked the guy to stop. "Bas karo bas (You can stop now)," he told the cameraman. But his partner Jadeja was not having any of it and instead instructed the cameraman otherwise. "Zoom karo zoom (Please zoom in)," he said.
{{/usCountry}}The camera followed every movement of Pant, to an extent that he asked the guy to stop. "Bas karo bas (You can stop now)," he told the cameraman. But his partner Jadeja was not having any of it and instead instructed the cameraman otherwise. "Zoom karo zoom (Please zoom in)," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Pant and Hardik stitched a 133-run partnership for the fourth wicket which brought India back into the match. And even though India lost Hardik trying to finish the game quickly, Jadeja and Pant took the team over the line. Jadeja was unbeaten on 7 off 15 and he allowed Pant to dictate terms till the end of the match.