India’s start to the third day of the fourth Test against Australia in Melbourne was far from ideal, as the Rohit Sharma-led side lost both Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja in the first session. Pant, the last specialist batter after India had fallen to 5 wickets on Day 2, was expected to deliver a crucial innings.
However, he could only manage 28 runs from 37 balls, hitting a few boundaries and surviving a couple of lucky moments before falling to Scott Boland. Pant attempted a lap shot and was caught by Nathan Lyon.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was critical of Pant’s shot selection, especially with India in a precarious position.
“That was a terrible shot selection, particularly with the field set the way it was. Pant seems to have two ways of scoring—either by smashing the ball over long-on or playing shots like that. At the Test level, you can’t be consistently successful with that approach. If he wants to bat this way, he shouldn’t be at number 5, maybe further down the order. He’ll score some runs here and there, but not enough at No. 5,” Gavaskar remarked on Star Sports.
He also questioned Pant’s consistency, pointing out that his conversion rate for scores over 50 is only 19 percent. “Is that good enough for a No. 5?” Gavaskar asked.
— DJ Sinha (@sdj374531) December 28, 2024
By the time lunch was called on Day 3, India had reached 244 for 7, having lost both Pant and Jadeja in the morning. The team, which started the day at 164 for 5 and trailing by 310 runs, had reduced the deficit to 230. Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar were at the crease, with scores of 40 and 5, respectively. Pant’s 28 and Jadeja’s dismissal for just 1 contributed to India’s struggles.