Rishabh Pant memes took social media by storm after Team India put on a horror show against Australia on day two of the third Test at Indore on Thursday.
Widely regarded as the top wicketkeeper batter in Tests, Rishabh Pant has hit 2,169 runs in 54 innings at the whites, including five centuries and ten-half centuries. He has a staggering batting average of 73.10 and an average of 43.48 in the five-day format.
In December, he propelled India to a 2-0 win over Bangladesh in the Test series in the neighboring country. In doing so, Rishabh Pant joined a select group of Indian wicketkeepers, including former captain MS Dhoni, to complete 4,000 runs in international cricket.
However, a near-fatal accident suffered by the left-handed wicketkeeper in Uttarakhand in December ended his career. According to a well-known cricket website and former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, he will miss the entire 2023 season.
According to the report, Rishabh Pant will certainly not be available for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Test World Cup final in June.
All three ligaments in Rishabh Pant’s knee were damaged in the accident. Two of these tapes have already been reconstructed after operations at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai.
As a result, Rishabh Pant will be sidelined for at least six months, leaving his October-November ODI World Cup selection in limbo.
Recently, former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly released a major update on Rishabh Pant’s health, hinting that the 25-year-old could be on a long break from the sport that could potentially last more than a year.
“I’ve spoken to him a few times. He’s obviously going through a tough time with injuries and surgeries and I wish him the best. In a year or maybe a few years, he will play for India again,” Sourav Ganguly told PTI news agency.
Although Rohit Sharma’s side comfortably defeated Australia in the first two Tests in Nagpur and Delhi, everyone felt that Rishabh Pant was missing.
But he was thoroughly missed in the third Test as the Indian cricket team couldn’t find a way past the Australian spinners and were sacked in their first and second essays for 109 and 163 respectively.
After seeing the home team’s pathetic performance at Holkar Stadium in Indore, Team India supporters took to Twitter to taunt them with hilarious Rishabh Pant memes.
Rishabh Pant after watching Indian batsmen battling Spin pic.twitter.com/GrcWHXenoH
— Ankit Pathak 🇮🇳 (@ankit_acerbic) March 1, 2023
Rishabh Pant at home sees Lyon score 8 wickets against India pic.twitter.com/ha6bXPE82G
— Rajabets India🇮🇳👑 (@smileandraja) March 2, 2023
Rishabh pants style
Game against Taklu Lyon pic.twitter.com/XMoT7v3KV9
— memes_hallabol (@memes_hallabol) March 2, 2023
Rishabh Pant watches Nathan Lyon win 8 wickets against India pic.twitter.com/I6OuVdMDAg
— Gagan🇮🇳 (@1no_aalsi_) March 2, 2023
Rishabh Pant after knowing Takla Nathan Lyon took 5 wickets against India:-#INDvsAUSTest pic.twitter.com/WU9TyuOVjU
— Sir BoiesX 🕯 (@BoiesX45) March 2, 2023
Speaking of competition in Madhya Pradesh, Australia took control of proceedings on Day 2 after establishing a crucial 88-run lead over Rohit Sharma and his men in the first innings.
In response to India’s timid 109, the Australians were all seeded at 197, with Ravindra Jadeja selecting four wickets while Ravichandran Ashwin and Umesh Yadav scored three goals each.
The home side would have to struggle in the second attachment if they had any chance of winning the game at all. But instead of learning from their Day 1 mistakes, the Indian cricket team once again showed their weakness against quality spin bowling.
Australia’s top spinner Nathan Lyon, who had looked menacing throughout the series, was the wrecker-in-chief, picking a remarkable eight-wicket move to take the Kangaroos on the brink of a rare victory in India.
Nathan Lyon, arguably the best off-spinner Australia has ever produced, outsmarted India’s star-studded line-up with his cunning, trajectory and spin to take a match-defining 8/64 on Thursday.
After stumps on Day 2, an enthusiastic Nathan Lyon spoke about his tactics against Indian batsmen and how he got so much spin where the home side’s spinners failed.
“It doesn’t matter what wicket I play on. If I can find someone to defend, I’m pretty lucky. That’s the be-all and end-all of my secret, trying to get guys to defend me for long periods of time. That means I put the balls in the right areas,” he said after the end of the game.
“To say that, I don’t mind if guys try to hit me. I was met for most no. of sixes in Test history, so I’m not scared of getting hit for a six (smiles). It’s a big challenge, but I don’t mind, but it’s even harder to get the guys to defend,” said Nathan Lyon.
“I know a lot of people see that negatively. I see it as the total opposite. I find it very offensive that you bring all kinds of dismissals. Times have changed when you could roll over the stumps and still get the boys in line.”
“Yeah, that might be the case every now and then, but when you roll that line, the good batsmen around the world come out of the line instantly. But when you get around the wicket with a lot of spin, that brings all kinds of dismissals,” he explained.
“I was pretty happy with how I bowled in Nagpur to be honest. I understand the quality of the cricketers we come across. I know the challenges against these guys but I was pretty happy with how I bowled in Nagpur.”
“I was pretty excited when Toddy Murphy (another offie) took seven for one. Nothing has changed for me. It’s about trusting my stock ball and getting the basics right. I tell that after every game,” concluded Lyon.
On the other hand, former Australian cricketers Michael Clarke and Matthew Hayden have blasted the playing field for the state of affairs in Indore.
“What kind of pitch are we playing on,” Michael Clarke told Sky Sports Radio.
“For me, it’s the air and dust that’s picked up by either the quicks or the spinners. It shows it’s only going to get worse. It’s like pitching from Day 3 to Day 1 in India. You don’t want to see that. India could have been kicked out for 70,” he added.
“That’s why I have a problem with these conditions. There’s no way in the world a spin bowler should be substituted on in the sixth over,” said Matthew Hayden on Fox Sports.
“4.8 degrees, that’s a massive twist. That’s the kind of twist you’d expect on day three. You have to give batsmen a chance… Day one, day two should be about batting,” he explained.
“It wasn’t necessarily meant to be a spin bowler’s paradise, it wasn’t meant to stay low and spin a mile on day one,” signed Matthew Hayden.
