Team India’s swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has said that they have not set any template as to how they play the death overs with the bat. He once again said that he and Venkatesh Iyer has batted as per the demands of the situation on Friday.
Pant (52* off 28) and Iyer (33 off 18) stitched 76 off only 35 balls for the fifth wicket in Kolkata. Thanks to them, Team India posted 186 for 5 after batting first. At a virtual press conference after the match, Pant opened up on their attacking during the partnership.
He said: “We have not set any template but we tried to capitalize on the middle overs. At the end of the day, you have to play the situation. When I was batting, I was thinking that I have to take the match slightly deeper. Generally, I would like to hit bowlers from the 14-15th over but I tried to take it deep. I knew after Iyer our bowlers were going to come. He (Iyer) came in and played really well, and we had a good partnership together.”
While talking about Iyer’s innings, he said that the all-rounder has read the situation well and played accordingly as well.
He stated: “When you come down the order, you know the situation. He is someone who reads the situation really well. We talked about keeping it simple and not trying too many things. The plan was to see the ball, hit the ball.”
While Pant smashed seven fours and a six in his innings, Iyer smacked four fours and one six as well. However, Iyer opened the innings for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during IPL 2021. However, for India, he has been batting in the middle order and doing well so far.
While explaining the decision, Rishabh Pant stated that Team India are trying to fit players into specific roles as well.
He concluded: “He (Iyer) is a mature cricketer. He used to play down the order for MP. Yes, in the IPL he is opening, but we can’t be thinking too much about that. In the Indian team, we are just trying to find different positions for different people. We are focusing on giving chances to everyone, where we see them fit for the team. And we are trying to take it forward from there.”