On Friday, Pant became the only Indian wicketkeeper to score a century on Australia soil when he smashed an unbeaten 159 and shared a 204-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja, as the visitors declared at 622 runs for seven.
False hope. Is there anything worse? Australian cricket fans were given a healthy dollop of it to consume on day three at the SCG. Winning the first session – adding 100 mostly glittering runs while losing just one wicket along the way – felt good, like maybe a corner had been turned since the mess that was the Melbourne innings last week. But no. The four wickets that fell in the middle session defined the day; the painful new normal.
Catch all the live updates from the second ODI between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Mount Maunganui.
The rookie opener made a gritty 79, taking on the Indian bowling attack even as he lost partners at regular intervals.
When the going is good, every breath you take is a fruitful one and every move you make pays dividends. Even as Australia have floundered to find personnel to fill the gaps in their batting line-up, their bowlers have sagged under the heavy burden of the overs they have had to send down, India have managed to bring in new players as and when required and watch them succeed.Catch all the live updates from the second ODI between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Mount Maunganui.Catch all the live updates from the second ODI between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Mount Maunganui.