"It's outstanding how he comes up with series-changing knocks" - Wasim Jaffer lavishes praise on Rishabh Pant 

Team India's wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant guided his side to a stunning win against England in the all-important third ODI on Sunday at Manchester. The southpaw contributed significantly with his unbeaten knock of 125 in the deciding contest.

Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, ex-cricketer Wasim Jaffer pointed out how Rishabh Pant has often stepped up with the bat in crunch situations. He lauded the talented youngster for his batting exploits in the recently concluded England tour.

It is worth mentioning that Pant was exceptional with the bat in the rescheduled fifth Test against England. The left-hander scored 146 runs in the first innings and followed it up with yet another impactful knock of 56 in the subsequent innings.

Jaffer highlighted that India lost the red-ball fixture despite Pant's heroics. However, he praised the 24-year-old for guiding the Men in Blue to an important win in the ODI series decider.

He stated:

"Rishabh Pant is in brilliant form and has already played some incredible knocks in his short career. For someone who's just 24 years old, it's outstanding how he comes up with series-changing knocks.

"He's played two outstanding knocks in this short tour of England. While the result didn't go in India's way in the Test match where he got a hundred, he made sure this time that he finished on the right side."

A certain section of fans had recently questioned Pant's place in India's white-ball team. However, the Delhi Capitals skipper successfully shut down his critics by slamming his first-ever ODI century.

"It was a coming-of-age innings" - Ashley Giles on Rishabh Pant's maiden ODI ton

Former England spinner Ashley Giles mentioned that India were under a lot of pressure after their top-order big guns were back in the hut early during the run-chase. He opined that the visitors would have failed to chase down the total if Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya hadn't steadied the ship.

He spoke about how Pant was happy to play second fiddle to Pandya during their 133-run partnership. Also speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Giles lauded the left-hander for playing a patient knock in the fixture.

Giles stated:

"India were under the pump in the 3rd ODI after their senior batters were gone early. It was a difficult situation and if there were a couple of more quick wickets at that stage, India could have lost the match by 100 runs. But it was a brilliant partnership between Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant."

He added:

"For the much of it, Pant took the backseat. He took his time and showed his mature side. He was 100 off 106 balls and it shows that he plays with a lot of patience in the modern game. It was a coming-of-age innings."

Jaffer added that Pant accelerated once Pandya got out to make sure that India would go on to win the encounter even if they lost more wickets. He reckoned that the swashbuckler didn't let his ego come in between and played according to the situation.

He remarked:

"With Pandya going at a good strike rate, he was happy to hang back and play second fiddle. He took over when he got the opportunity. But as soon as Pandya got out, it was a conscious effort to take that total down so low that it won't be hard for India to chase it down even if they lose more wickets.

"It shows how mature he's become. He rotated the strike and didn't let that ego come in."

Pant received appreciation from all corners for his gutsy century against the hosts. With their impressive win in the third ODI, Rohit Sharma and Co. completed a brilliant 2-1 series win over the 2019 World Cup winners.