Rishabh Pant jumps to take the catch of Avesh Khan during India B vs India A Duleep Trophy game.© X/@BCCIdomestic
Rishabh Pant had a good start to the Duleep Trophy. His team India B won its first game against India A by 76 runs at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and Pant played a crucial role in the game. He failed with a score of 7 in the first innings before smashing a sensational 61 off just 47 balls in the second chance. Not only this, Pant also did some really good glovework, taking two catches in the first innings and as many as five in the second.
One of the catches taken by Pant in the second innings is going viral on social media. India B pacer Navdeep Saini bowled a short of length ball down the leg stump to Avesh Khan. The batter edged it and Pant flew to the leg side to take an excellent catch.
As soon as Pant completed his dive, he carried out a unique celebration as the wicketkeeper threw the ball in air and followed it up with a stare, most probably towards the dismissed batter.
Watch it here:
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) September 8, 2024
Talking about the game, India A won the toss and opted to bowl first. Akash Deep picked four wickets helping his side bowl out India B for 321. Musheer Khan played a marathon knock of 181, taking India B to a big total.
In reply, India A could score only 231 as Navdeep Saini and Mukesh shared three wickets apiece.
Abhimanyu Easwaran-led India B came again to bat and posted 184 all out this time, with Pant top-scoring in the innings. The side then bundled out their opponents for 198, thanks to Yash Dayal's 3/50 and two wickets each from Mukesh and Navdeep.
Musheer was named the Player of the Match. "My preparation was really good with my father. I had done well in Ranji so I knew I could get an opportunity here. Every ball I was encouraging him from the non-striker's end to play it out (his partnership with Saini). I think it was only the first or second time for me to take catches at short leg," he said after the game.