"His shot in the second innings was one he'll probably regret" - Former Australian captain on Indian batter's dismissal in 4th BGT 2024-25 Test

Former Australian captain Michael Clarke weighed in on Rishabh Pant's questionable shot selection to be dismissed in both innings of the fourth Test in Melbourne. Pant attempted an ill-advised scoop shot outside off-stump off Scott Boland, only to be caught by Nathan Lyon at third man.

The southpaw perished to a big shot again in the second innings, pulling a half-tracker from Travis Head down to Mitchell Marsh at long-on. Pant was well-set in both innings on 28 and 30, resulting in his dismissals drawing massive criticisms from former players and fans.

Clarke, however, feels Pant will regret the second innings dismissal even more as it led to an Indian collapse that cost them the game.

Talking about the same on the Around the Wicket Podcast, he said [0.40]:

"I Think his shot in the second innings was one he'll probably regret even more. With the situation of the game, they were building a partnership and batting so well together, they really were stopping Australia from winning the Test match."

"It was muscle memory and he just reacted. Saw it short and tried to hit it out of the park. He could have hit it hard but just along the ground. And when you are a big player and someone that's scored Test hundreds and there's expectation, if you are getting out like that, you are going to cop criticism. He is a wonderful player, just shot selection at the right time evaded him," added Clarke.

Following Rishabh Pant's dismissal in the second innings, India lost their final six wickets for 28 runs to suffer an 184-run defeat.

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"Pant should be criticised only for his failures, rather than how he fails" - Sanjay Manjrekar

BORDER GAVASKAR TROPHY TEST: DEC 30 NRMA Insurance Boxing Day Test - Source: Getty

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar reacted to all the backlash Rishabh Pant received following his dismissals in the Melbourne Test. He feels the criticisms should only be about Pant's lack of runs in the ongoing Australian series instead of his dismissal modes.

Manjrekar recently posted on his X handle:

"Pant should be criticised only for his failures, rather than how he fails. He averages 42 in Tests with at least 3 great inngs, ever played by an Indian! In 42 tests he has 6 hundreds & 7 nineties. He is a great player not scoring enough runs & that’s the crux of it."

Pant has been surprisingly disappointing thus far in the series, averaging only 22 with no half-centuries in seven innings.

His struggles have meant India trail the five-match series 1-2 with the final Test to be played in Sydney, starting January 3.