India and New Zealand are playing against each other in the first of the three-match ODI series at Eden Park in Auckland. The kiwi skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and asked the Indians to bat first at the bowling-friendly turf of Eden Park. Indian management went on to give another chance to out-of-form wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant.
Notably, Pant is struggling with a poor run of form with the bat since the 20-20 World Cup 2022. He failed another time on a given chance. The 25-year-old could score only 15 runs and fell prey to Lockie Ferguson in the 33rd over of the match.
This miserable performance from the Delhi batter didn’t go down well with the Indian cricket fans. They immediately took to Twitter to lash out both at the Rishabh Pant and the Indian management for giving back-to-back chances to the southpaw after continuous failures.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Rishabh Pant #INDvsNZ pic.twitter.com/3F9mq1IdPY
— Vipin Sharma🔥🔥 (@Pardeshi_vipin) November 25, 2022
All that Dravid & Rohit ever did was break Rishabh Pant's confidence beyond repair. It pains me to see him like this, dropped when he was at his peak, deprived of game time just so that we fulfil some life long dream of a comeback of a man touted as his replacement.
— Ranfun (@bettrcallrangan) November 25, 2022
Rishabh Pant given 2 T20I matches and now first one day. He was given some matches in World Cup, He should be given maximum 5 more matches and then to decide about him. There can be option: Sanju in white ball and Pant in red ball.#NZvIND
— sports.world (@fariaawan5) November 25, 2022
ODIs#NZvINDonPrime #NZvsIND
#RishabhPant is really fraud... Kyun inko team mai rekha hai... Isse behtar toh Main batting karta hu trust me i am local cricketer , mujhe apne pe proud feel hai ki mai @RishabhPant17 se acha batsman hu #BCCI #justasking 🙏
— ishfaqmalik (@therealishfaq) November 25, 2022
Ye aisa kya deta h @BCCI #RishabhPant
— krishan (@krishangora7) November 25, 2022
@BCCI @RishabhPant17 please give me a chance to play in Indian cricket. Give me continuous 50 matches, somehow I will make a 50 run in one innings like @RishabhPant17 @klrahul 🤣🤣🤣🤣
— Open book (@sayeverything0) November 25, 2022
#INDvsNZ #Pant #RishabhPant
— Mahi (@mahiosnow) November 25, 2022
Greatest batsman missed Century by Just 85 runs 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Y8NVqQMdHD
@BCCI please remove rishab pant from all formats 🙏🏻#INDvsNZ #RishabhPant
— KohliKingdom (@livingforVK18) November 25, 2022
#RishabhPant looks down on confidence without any rhythm,timing..waiting for his fav format,Tests to shine? #IndvNz #indvsNz
— movieman (@movieman777) November 25, 2022
I said it before I say it again #INDvsNZ #pant is a fraud https://t.co/hX4G0nCfdq
— RJ (@rishi_jhun) November 25, 2022
From the past few months Difficult for @RishabhPant17 don't worry champ chin up everything comes in your favour very good soon. Never give up ❤️ #spiderpant #RishabhPant
— Ankit jha (@ITSANKIT077) November 25, 2022
Watching #RishabhPant is frustrating now. #INDvsNZ
— varun jain (@jainvarun_) November 25, 2022
Speaking of the match so far, the opening pair of young batters Shubman Gill and Shubman Gill provided a strong foundation by stitching 124 runs for the first wicket in 23.1 overs. Shikhar Dhawan played a steady and strong knock of 72 runs off 77 balls with 13 boundaries to his name. Whereas Shubman Gill scored a half-century knock of 50 runs off 65 balls with a boundary and three maximums on his credit.
At the time of filling this copy, Shreyas Iyer and Washington Sundar are there in the middle with individual scores of 78 and 32 runs respectively. India is currently on the score of 298 runs for the loss of five wickets in 49 overs.