Pant let team down with stupid shot; Nitish Reddy's knock one of the greatest: Sunil Gavaskar
Melbourne, Dec 28: The legendary Sunil Gavaskar on Saturday lashed out at Rishabh Pant for his "stupid" shot in crunch situation but praised young Nitish Kumar Reddy to the skies for conjuring up "one of the greatest Test knocks" on the third day of the Boxing Day match.
With India desperately looking for a big partnership in the fourth Test against Australia at the MCG, Pant attempted to scoop Scott Boland to fine leg, only to get a leading edge for Nathan Lyon to complete a simple catch at deep third man.
Pant had tried to play a similar shot in the previous ball too but failed to connect and was hit in the naval area. The batter seemed to be in pain as he lay on the ground.
Gavaskar said the wicketkeeper-batter had let the team down by throwing his wicket away when India needed him the most.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid. You have got two fielders there and you still go for that (shot). You missed the previous shot and look where you have been caught. You have been caught at deep third man. That is throwing your wicket," a furious Gavaskar said while commentating.
"Not in the situation that India was... you have to understand the situation as well. You cannot say that that's your natural game. I'm sorry, that is not your natural game. That is a stupid shot. That is letting your team down badly," the batting great said on air.
"He should not be going in the dressing room. He should be going in the other dressing room."
Former India coach Ravi Shastri termed it a "very risky shot" given the situation.
Gavaskar was also full of praise for young Reddy, who scored maiden Test century under difficult circumstances.
Walking in at the fall of the team's sixth wicket with just 191 on the board, the 21-year-old Reddy made an unbeaten 105 off 176 balls, and was involved in a record partnership of 127 for the eighth wicket with Washington Sundar (50 off 162 balls).
"This century by Nitish Kumar Reddy must rank as one of the greatest hundreds in the history of Indian cricket," he said.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" 😡
— ABC SPORT (@abcsport) December 28, 2024
🏏 Safe to say Sunny wasn't happy with Rishabh Pant after that shot.
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Delegation led by Abdul Hakkim Azhari meets Malaysian Prime Minister
Mangaluru/Kuala Lumpur: A delegation led by Dr. Muhammed Abdul Hakkim Azhari, Managing Director of Markaz Knowledge City, met Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar bin Ibrahim on Friday.
The meeting was held at the Nasyrul Quran Centre in Putrajaya, near the capital city Kuala Lumpur. During the interaction, the team discussed key issues related to healthcare, education, and current affairs with the Malaysian Prime Minister.
Also present on the occasion were Dr. UT Ifthikar Fareed, Chairman of the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions, along with several other dignitaries.
