With Rishabh Pant hitting a 73-ball 103 in the second innings of India’s second practice game against Australia A, the question of who between Pant and Wriddhiman Saha should play in the first Test has once again popped up in front of the coach and captain of the Indian team, ahead of the first Test, a day/ night affair in Adelaide.
"This hundred has been a big confidence-booster for me,” Pant told BCCI.tv in an interview after the end of the three-day practice game in Sydney. “It's been a month. I am in Australia but I didn't get the chance to play in the first practice match because of a stiff neck,” he added.
With a resolve to bat for a longer period of time, having been undone by an LBW decision in the first innings of the game, Pant, 23 talked about how he grew in confidence as the innings progressed.
"When I went out to bat, a lot of overs were left, so (Hanuma) Vihari and I wanted to build a good partnership. We wanted to bat as much as possible. I was just trying to give myself as much time as possible and slowly I started to develop confidence," he said.
Stating that the batting unit was keen to spend as much time as possible in the middle during the pink ball practice game, the Delhi-born cricketer said that it turned out to be a good practice overall.
"The bowlers bowled well. The batsmen got good time at the crease. Everyone did well. So, I think we got very good practice because playing under lights is a little difficult," he added.
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