The long conversation between Sanjiv Goenka and Rishabh Pant after LSG’s loss to Delhi Capitals at Visakhapatnam became a big talking point. Legendary India opener Sunil Gavaskar has opened up on the chatter and predicted the discussion between them.
Gavaskar feels that Rishabh Pant might not have had a great day, but the LSG skipper will come back harder in the next games. He believes that Pant will do better in captaincy once he starts scoring runs with the bat.
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Sunil Gavaskar speaks on Sanjiv Goenka and Rishabh Pant’s conversation
During the post-match show on JioHotstar, Sunil Gavaskar spoke about Rishabh Pant’s mistakes in the match and claimed that the wicketkeeper already knows where to perform. Goenka hopes that Pant might have picked up some valuable learnings from the game and will look to improve now.
“I think he knows. He mentioned in the post-match interview that you often learn more from your mistakes than from your successes. When you bat well, there’s not much to reflect upon, but when you don’t perform with the bat or ball, you understand the areas that need improvement,” Gavaskar said.
“This is just the first match, and there are 13 more to go. Rishabh Pant is an intelligent cricketer, and he will have picked up valuable insights regarding his batting and captaincy. I believe we will see him improve his performance,” he added.
The former India batter feels that Pant’s captaincy will improve once he scores runs with the bat. He hopes that the LSG captain will get better at his role as the tournament progresses.
“Additionally, when a captain scores runs or takes wickets, it significantly boosts their confidence in making bowling changes and setting the field. Once he gets some runs under his belt, I expect his captaincy to become even more assured,” he reckoned.
Rishabh Pant’s disappointing performance
Rishabh Pant didn’t have a great match on his LSG debut as he was dismissed for a six-ball duck. The other batters around him had a great time with the bat as they scored runs freely on a good batting wicket at Visakhapatnam.
There were some question marks over his captaincy as well. Pant didn’t use the two overs of the experienced Shardul Thakur in the death overs and instead went for the inexperienced Prince Yadav.
DC required 6 runs to win off the final over, and Rishabh Pant decided to give the over to the left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed. DC’s Ashutosh Sharma was well set and finished off the game in style.
Sunil Gavaskar on Ashutosh Sharma’s knock
Gavaskar lauded the way Ashutosh Sharma batted under pressure. He also praised how Mohit Sharma took the single at a crucial moment to give the strike to Ashutosh, and the latter finished the game off with a six.
“When that appeal against Mohit Sharma was referred, I was down here, and obviously, this is Delhi’s home ground. The moment the decision was given in the batter’s favor—’ not out’—you should have seen the reaction of the crowd; they knew they had a chance,”
“Then came the smart play from Mohit Sharma, an experienced campaigner. He just tapped the ball around, knowing he wouldn’t be able to clear the ropes, but the other man, Ashutosh Sharma, could. And that was a fabulous finish!” he exclaimed.
Delhi Capitals will face a stiff challenge next as they play Sunrisers Hyderabad at Visakhapatnam on March 30. Both teams are coming into this match on the back of close victories and will be aiming to maintain their winning momentum.
