On Day 2 of the second Test match against Australia in Adelaide, 27-year-old Rishabh Pant made his signature shot once more. When the keeper-batter walked out to bat, India was in trouble, but the batsman didn’t change his approach and played an aggressive style of cricket, which has since been his trademark.
The southpaw’s absurd pull shot in the 19th over of India’s second innings went viral on social media. The Haridwar-born waited for Boland to produce a short delivery, then shuffled over the crease and bent to his right to strike it in the fine-led area. Ravi Shastri, who was commentating, was thrilled to see the cricket player maintain his concentration under duress after Pant dropped to the ground while making the shot.
Check Rishabh Pant shot here:
This is outrageous from Rishabh Pant
So good to watch #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/Vwqe9njMSx
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 7, 2024
After Day 2, India is 29 runs behind.
In the middle, Indian batters struggled once more. After opener KL Rahul left the pitch after seven runs, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal appeared to be playing well. However, Jaiswal nicked one to Alex Carey in the ninth over, and Boland removed him for 24 runs. Virat Kohli was expected to do well, especially considering his Adelaide records, but he dropped out for just 11 runs.
Gill left after scoring 28 runs, however. In the game’s eighteenth over, Mitchell Starc, the star pacer, swept him clean. Gill was caught off guard in the middle, and a late banana swing won the match. Soon after, Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, too returned to the pavilion. Six runs off 15 balls were scored by the skipper. Pat Cummins struck the off-stump because Rohit was nowhere near the length. India was then lowered to 105/5.
CASTLED!
Mitch Starc gets some “banana swing” to make a mess of Shubman Gill’s stumps
#DeliveredWithSpeed | @NBN_Australia | #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/sP41huXm4F
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 7, 2024
Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy appeared to be getting along well before the play of the day ended. On Day 3, the youthful players will be crucial, or else India’s match could end very soon.
India
