Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was left distraught after he was deemed out by the third umpire Paul Reiffel, and the on-field call was overturned in the ongoing third and final Test between India and New Zealand. The left-handed batter was holding the fort for the hosts in a tricky run-chase of 147, but his dismissal has now thrown the match wide-open. Pant had to walk back to the hut after scoring 64 runs off just 57 balls.
On the fourth ball of the 22nd over, off the bowling of Ajaz Patel, Rishabh Pant danced down the track, however he was not able to reach the pitch of it. The ball then popped up off the pad before going into the gloves of wicketkeeper Tom Blundell.
New Zealand started celebrating, however, the on-field official did not raise his finger. After deliberating, the Kiwi skipper Tom Latham opted for a review. The UltraEdge showed a murmur when the ball was close to the bat. As soon as the replays played on the big screen, Pant started talking to the on-field officials, seemingly indicating that the murmur can be caused through the bat hitting his pad.
However, Paul Reiffel reckoned that there was a deflection, and he thought that there is enough evidence to overturn the decision. As soon as the out verdict was given, Pant was reluctant to walk back, however, he slowly and steadily made his way back.
Pant becomes third batter to register 50+ knocks in each innings at 100+ strike rate
During the course of his whirlwind knock in the fourth and final innings, Rishabh Pant became only the third battter, after Virender Sehwag and Yashasvi Jaiswal to register 50+ scores in each innings of a Test with a strike rate of more than 100.
Speaking of the ongoing Test, India have been set a target of 147 to gain a consolation win in the three-match series.
India lost their opening six wickets with just 71 runs on the board. It was only Rishabh Pant who showed some fight with the bat, as he took the game to the New Zealand bowlers.
However, the left-hander was eventually dismissed by Ajaz Patel, sending the match down the wire. This was Ajaz Patel’s 10th wicket of the match, as he had earlier taken five wickets in the first innings.
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Sarfaraz Khan all failed to get going in the final innings of the Test series.
