Rishabh Pant opens up on blazing stand with Venkatesh Iyer, says they played according to situation

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Team India’s attacking wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has stated that the side have not set any template as to how they want to approach the death overs with the bat. The left-hander said that he and Venkatesh Iyer batted as per the demands of the situation on Friday.

Pant (52* off 28) and Iyer (33 off 18) added 76 off only 35 balls for the fifth wicket in the 2nd T20I of the three-match series against West Indies in Kolkata. Thanks to the blazing stand, Team India posted 186 for 5 after being sent into bat.

At a virtual press conference following the match, Pant was asked if there was a plan in place to go on an all-out attack during the partnership. The 24-year-old replied:

“We have not set any template but we tried to capitalize on the middle overs. At the end of the day, you have to play the situation. When I was batting, I was thinking that I have to take the match slightly deeper.”

The aggressive southpaw elaborated on the partnership and added:

“Generally, I would like to hit bowlers from the 14-15th over but I tried to take it deep. I knew after Iyer our bowlers were going to come. He (Iyer) came in and played really well, and we had a good partnership together.”

On Iyer’s innings, the gloveman said the all-rounder read the situation well and played accordingly. He stated:

“When you come down the order, you know the situation. He is someone who reads the situation really well. We talked about keeping it simple and not trying too many things. The plan was to see the ball, hit the ball.”

While Pant struck seven fours and a six in his innings, Iyer slammed four fours and one maximum.

“Trying to find different positions for different people” – Pant on Iyer batting in middle order

Iyer came to prominence opening the innings for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during IPL 2021. However, for India, he has been batting in the middle order. Explaining the decision, the wicketkeeper pointed out that Team India are trying to fit players into specific roles. He elaborated:

“He (Iyer) is a mature cricketer. He used to play down the order for MP. Yes, in the IPL he is opening, but we can’t be thinking too much about that. In the Indian team, we are just trying to find different positions for different people. We are focusing on giving chances to everyone, where we see them fit for the team. And we are trying to take it forward from there.”

After Iyer and Pant’s knocks took India to a challenging total, the bowlers held their nerves. The hosts registered victory by eight runs, their 100th win in T20Is, despite counterattacking fifties from Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell.