Rishabh Pant keeps entertaining the followers of Team India and cricket as a whole with his stumper mic gold. In the second Test Match between India and New Zealand in Pune, Pant was back in his element, this time from behind the stumps, and as always it made for great viewing. With Washington Sundar making a Test return after almost three years, Pant opted to pass his sage advice from behind the stumps. But in what seemed like an unorthodox case of Pant coaching his colleague, Sundar was counseled not to attack the batsman and got smacked for a four instead.
As Washington Sundar was making a comeback to the Test squad nearly after three years, Pant had to keep his advice on the shelf. Still, humorous seemed to be Sundar throwing a boundary after all the encouragement.
Sundar bowled with confidence in the batting power play over but was still on five wickets when in walked Ajaz Patel to bat. Still, Sundar hanging on the next ball, Pant in Hindi instructed him to keep it full and wide. He did that, and bingo fire — so called Indian-origin Ajaz — belted him for four down the ground perhaps in-respect to Pant’s instruction.
“How the hell am I expected to know that he himself (Ajaz) knows Hindi?” remarked Pant as the latter cracked the shot.
Ajaz was born in Mumbai but belongs to an Indian family, having spent the first 8 years of his life in India. So, it would not be an unusual thing if Ajaz happens to know Hindi.
As for Pant’s reaction, Ajaz might have picked up the conversation that Pant had with Sundar from the back of the stump mic. His shot most definitely confirmed that because he immediately hit a boundary right after.
Getting back to the game, New Zealand was off to a good start but during the last session of the day, they suffered a complete collapse. From 201/4, the Kiwis lost the remaining six wickets for just 58 runs as Washington Sundar returned to Test cricket with a remarkable seven-wicket haul.
While Ravichandran Ashwin had started the Indian onslaught by taking the first three wickets, it was Sundar who dismantled the New Zealand batting line up in the middle and lower order. Sundar’s figures of 7/59 are the same as those of Ashwin’s best bowling figures in one innings of a Test match.
Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra were once again instrumental with the bat for the Kiwis as they both scored fifties.
