After swatting his first ball in Test cricket, from Adil Rashid, to cover, Rishabh Pant charged down the track the very next ball to send the legspinner for a six straight down the ground. Two balls into his Test career, Pant became the first Indian to get off the mark in the format with a six. Pant, though, said he was ‘nervous’ and not thinking much while playing that shot.
“I was nervous; everyone is nervous when they play their first match,” he said after India’s victory in the Nottingham Test. “It was a dream for me to play Test match cricket. I was not thinking of doing anything. I saw the ball and reacted to it.”
Pant said keeping wickets in England was a challenge, but explained that his stint with India A prior to the Test series helped him.
“Keeping in England is always difficult because the ball wobbles a lot behind the wicket,” he said. “I’ve played for India-A for the last two-and-a-half months in England, so that helps.”
“When Bumrah bowls, he bowls with a different angle. So, sometimes we react to it (by moving towards leg-side),” Pant said. “That day I moved too much, and there was an edge. It was not too difficult a catch; I could have pulled it off but that’s part of the game. As a keeper you have to wait for the outside edge. That’s what I have learnt.”
