IND vs SL 2022 | Rishabh Pant backing his strengths is a positive sign for us, says Jasprit Bumrah
India are again in the driving seat against Sri Lanka in their third-ever pink-ball Test at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. Rishabh Pant played a spectacular knock scoring 50 runs from 31 balls and India vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah has praised him for backing his strengths against the visitors.
Only two days of the Bangalore Test are over and India are already in the driving seat. The visitors have a huge target of 447 in the second innings and they are poised on 28/1 by the end of second day. Shreyas Iyer has been a consistent performer for India in both the innings as he scored fifties in both of them. Jasprit Bumrah bagged a five-wicket haul in the first innings and also dismissed the opposition opener in the second innings so far.Â
Rishabh Pant scored 50 runs from 31 balls achieving a rare feat. He became the quickest Indian to hit a half-century in red-ball cricket. Speaking about Pant’s innings, India vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah said that Pant has backed his skills against the visitors and that’s a positive sign for the team.Â
"Not each and everyone (can) play in the same manner. Every individual has a different game-plan, so he has backed his strengths," Bumrah said after day's play
"Not every player in the team will play with the same tempo, we understand that. He is still getting more and more experience and learning about this game. That is his plan (attacking) going forward so that's a positive sign for us," said the pacer.
Bumrah has been terrific with pin-ball under lights, He scalped five wickets for 24 runs in the first innings. He also dismissed Lahiru Thirimanne in the second innings. He has become the spearhead of the bowling unit but interestingly this was his first five-wicket haul at home. Reflecting on a playing a few home Tests in his career so far, Bumrah said that to manage the workload while playing in three formats home Tests are missed sometimes.Â
"It feels good. When you play all three formats you have to look after your body and you sometimes miss out on the home Tests. But it's always good, this is the time when I got the opportunity and to be able to contribute towards the team's success is always a great feeling," he said.
The pitch has been criticized for assisting the spin from the first day of the Test. The spinners are getting massive turns on the ball and it is extremely difficult for batsmen to play against teams. Bumrah has said that the team will not always get flat wickets but it’s a challenge to play in different conditions and the team looks forward to such a challenge.Â
"You always play in different conditions, not every wicket will be the same. If there is some help for the bowlers, when you score runs on such a wicket gives you a lot of confidence," he stated.
“You will not get flat wickets everywhere you play, so whenever it's a challenge, you are always looking forward to that challenge.”
"Nobody is complaining about the wicket, yes everybody is finding a way and looking forward to contribute because they know if they score good runs on a tough wicket then that will give them a lot of confidence and when they play on a relatively flat wicket that will give them strength. So that is the mood in our camp," he said.