Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to Rishabh Pant's blazing 61 on Day 2 of BGT 2024-25 5th Test ft. Sanjay Manjrekar

Rishabh Pant produced fireworks to blow away the Australian bowling attack on Day 2 of the fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Test in Sydney. He returned with a sizzling knock of 61 off 33, with six fours and four sixes and helped India end the day with a 145-run lead in the second innings.

Arriving at the crease at 59/3, Pant stunned Scott Boland by coming down the track to hit an audacious six over the long-on fence. He continued his momentum and disrupted the rhythm of every bowler. In particular, the southpaw slammed back-to-back sixes against Mitchell Starc, and reached his fifty off 29 balls.

However, Pant's innings was brought to an end by Pat Cummins, who forced the keeper-batter to slash his blade at a widish ball, and edging it to Alex Carey. Nevertheless, his knock helped the visitors accumulate a substantial lead.

On that note, let's take a look at a few expert reactions to Rishabh Pant's stunning knock on Day 2 of the Sydney Test.

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#1 Aakash Chopra

Former cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra feels a section of the cricket-watching audience along with him doesn't understand how Rishabh Pant manages to score runs with his counter-attacking mindset. He further opined that India ending Day 2 on a high can be single-handedly credited to Pant.

Here's what Chopra said on his YouTube channel:

"The key reason India is ahead by 145 runs is solely due to Pant. He slammed 61 off 33 and just kept hitting. I, along with some people follow traditional cricket, and we don't understand his game. If he gets out by playing these type of shots, we criticize him and suggest he play carefully."

Moroever, Chopra lauded Rishabh Pant for his fearless mindset and hailed him as the greatest keeper-batter for India in the longest format. He said:

"But the best of Pant will come like this way only. When it looks like the team is under pressure or the situation is tough, he slams sixes against a bowler like Mitchell Starc and hits a six on the very first ball against Scott Boland. He is definitely the greatest-ever wicket-keeper batter for India in Tests."

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#2 Sanjay Manjrekar

Renowned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar feels Rishabh Pant's innings will make a huge difference, if India win the game and draw the series 2-2. Manjrekar lauded Pant's exciting strokeplay on a tough pitch, which didn't allow the batters to settle down. Here's what he said in an interaction on ESPNcricinfo:

"If India go on to win the game, it's Rishabh Pant's innings that's gonna be the difference. He took the pitch out of the equation. On the same pitch, the top-class batters were struggling, he's forced Australian captain to have fielders in the deep.

"If it was him just taking a chance or it was madness, he wouldn't have been averaging 40. You've got to respect him. You don't want to get into his software in any way and he has to play the way he thinks is best."

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#3 Ahmad Shahzad

Former Pakistan batter Ahmad Shahzad lavished praise on Rishabh Pant's courage to play with an attacking mindset under pressure. Here's what he said on his YouTube channel:

"There was only one plan on this pitch, which was to attack from the very first ball. Pant displayed his intention by slamming a six against Scott Boland. It's not easy taking such risks in an important innings, when you are also criticized about your shot selections."

Further, Shahzad feels the media would have been all over Pant if he would've gotten out by playing rash shots. Despite that, the keeper continued with the same mindset. He also pointed out Pant's mental toughness and potential to play big knocks. He said:

"It takes courage, guts to hit the balls from the word go and completed his fifty under 30 balls. If India manages to clinch a victory in this game, you would know the value of Pant's knock," he added.

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#4 Parthiv Patel

Former cricketer-turned-analyst Parthiv Patel shared his take on Rishabh Pant's knock in an interaction on Cricbuzz. According to Patel, it's important for any team to have a counter-attacking player like Pant, who rises to the occasion in crunch situations. He said:

"Rishabh Pant bats in this way and especially when such situations arise, you need a batsman like Rishabh Pant in the team who attacks the opposition, who bowls the line length of the opposition consistently and forces you to think about something else."

"If he had played 20-25 balls more, perhaps this lead could have been around 200. He is such a player that if he plays even one session, he changes the entire atmosphere of the team and the situation of the game and it is this mindset that makes Rishabh Pant unique," Patel added.

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#5 Simon Katich

In the post-match analysis on Star Sports, former Australian batter Simon Katich took note of the contrasting knocks of Rishabh Pant in the two innings in Sydney. He thinks a slow-paced knock on Day 1 showed Pant's discipline, while he opined that the keeper-batter got a license to play his natural game on Day 2.

"I like both personalities. I like what I saw from him yesterday, it was hard work out there and he applied himself beautifully, particularly after the criticism he copped for his knocks at the MCG, which ultimately led to India losing that Test," Katich was quoted as saying by India Today.

"What we saw him from the first innings was discipline and game awareness, today it was a different type of game awareness. Maybe the hierarchy said to him, go for it, let’s see if Australia put their fielders out after that. He probably had the license," Katich added.