Legendary Australia captain Ricky Ponting heaped praise on India wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant after the southpaw smashed a masterful ton on the second day of the fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), on Friday.
The visitors took firm control of the SCG Test after Cheteshwar Pujara (193) and Pant (159*) powered them to 622/7d in their first innings. Pant’s second Test ton also helped him become the first Indian wicket-keeper to score a century in Australia.
Following Pant’s innings, which included 15 boundaries and 1 six, Ponting lauded the Indian glouvesman and said that he will go on to become one of the best keepers India have ever produced.
“He (Rishabh Pant) is a real talent and an incredibly good ball striker. He has got a really good game sense as well. I have been lucky enough to coach him at Delhi (Capitals). He has already scored his second Test ton and a couple of 90s to go with it. Look he is someone who could play a lot of Test cricket for India across formats. Pant is only 21 and is already into his ninth Test,” Ponting told cricket.com.au.
“He has got to do a bit of work on his keeping and he will also become a better batsman. We talk about MS Dhoni all the time and his impact on Indian cricket. He played a lot of Tests for India but made only six Test hundreds. This kid will make a lot more Test hundreds than that. We talk about him in the commentary box and he is sort of like another Adam Glichrist,” he added.
