Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday said young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant needs to address his poor shot selection before it is too late. In what is becoming increasingly frustrating with Pant, he played yet another loose and unnecessary stroke, throwing his wicket away at a crucial juncture as India went on lose the first T20I against Australia by four runs in Brisbane. (Match Highlights)
Australia made 158/4 in 17 overs but India were given a target of 174 in the same number of overs owing to the Duckworth-Lewis method in the rain-hit game. (Match Scorecard)
India looked on course with Pant and Dinesh Karthik adding 51 runs in 3.5 overs before the burly keeper-batsman was dismissed trying to play a cheeky shot off Andrew Tye.
It was a full toss from Tye on which Pant looked to play a reverse paddle but ended up giving an easy catch to Jason Behrendorff.
Pant's wicket came right against the run of play, leaving India needing 18 runs from nine balls.
Stoinis bowled the last over, with India needing 13 runs and took pace off the ball and picked up the wickets of Krunal Pandya and Khartik caught in the outfield as India finished 169/7.
Speaking on IndiaTV's 'Cricket Ki Baat' show, Ganguly said that it was an unnecessary shot to play for Pant and advised the batsman to work on his shot selection.
"Rishabh Pant could've won the match for India with Dinesh Karthik. The way he was batting with Karthik and took the match close for India, the shot didn't have any value," Ganguly told IndiaTV.
The former captain also said that the team management should talk to Pant and help him change his selection of shots.
"He is a an young player and somebody needs to tell him that when he has the ability and power to hit straight, he doesn't need to play these kind of shots. He is not in bad form. He just has to change his shot selection. It is not a difficult thing to do. I am not concerned with his form," Ganguly added.
After the match, India skipper Virat Kohli also said that it was Pant's wicket which "changed the match".
"It was a close game, exciting one for the crowd to watch and for the players as well, was a see-saw battle. We started well with the bat, fumbled in the middle overs, in the end we thought we'll win with Pant and Karthik but it changed again with Pant's dismissal," Kohli said at the post-match presentation.
