Rishabh Pant's dismissal triggers India's collapse in Melbourne: How India imploded to snatch defeat from jaws of draw
Rishabh Pant was caught in the deep for a second innings in the MCG Test, paving the way for Australia to trigger a collapse.
After a phenomenal effort to steady the ship in the afternoon session of day five at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Rishabh Pant gave away his wicket as he was dismissed by the part-time spin of Travis Head, holing out to long-on. This was an extremely frustrating dismissal for Indian fans, and this particular wicket waved the way for Australia to stage a comeback and trigger a collapse. In the end, Australia won the fourth Test by 184 runs.
It was a disappointing way for Pant to give away his wicket after a resolute and patient innings to the point. However, a momentary lapse in concentration saw him try to target Head, misguidedly finding the safe hands of Mitchell Marsh at long-on, who completed a good catch in the deep.
This follows from Pant’s strange dismissal in the first innings, which saw him getting heavily criticised by Sunil Gavaskar. The former India captain deemed Pant's shot ‘stupid, stupid stupid’ after he got out in the first innings. Pant now heads into the SCG Test with no half-centuries so far in the series.
Pant wicket leads to big collapse
While Pant had batted securely and well through the afternoon session, the tea break seemed to open up some cracks, as he played and missed at Nathan Lyon multiple times before trying to relieve some pressure against the part-time spin of Head. Pant might be more disappointed with his execution of the shot, finding long on with a lofted shot, rather than the decision, with the delivery having been a rank and hittable long-hop.
Pant’s wicket opened a window for the host team, who did excellently to use the open end and pry out a couple of more wickets. Ravindra Jadeja nicked off to Scott Boland, while first innings centurion Nitish Kumar Reddy failed on this occasion for just one run this time out. India went from 121-3 and looking set for a draw to a mini-collapse that found them at 130-6, and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s departure finding them at 140-7.
In the end, Australia did not waste the opportunity, and the final wicket of Mohammed Siraj was scalped by Nathan Lyon. Australia have now gained a 2-1 lead in the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
