India are way ahead at Lauderhill, Florida, in the first T20I against West Indies when Rishabh Pant joined Virat Kohli in the middle. Having just lost Rohit Sharma, India are 32/2 but chasing a meagre 96 for a win.
The situation is ideal for a youngster like Pant to settle down, use the match to find his rhythm and guide India to a win. Instead, the left-hander looks to slog sweep Sunil Narine, an ugly swipe across the line without getting a hang of the conditions on offer. The catch is taken in the deep and Pant departs for a golden duck.
It's another opportunity wasted for India's young sensation whose Under-19 and IPL performances have been enchanting. He even made Test centuries in England and Australia but with Pant you never know what's coming up next.
Take the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand for instance. India were 5/2 when he came to the middle and saw them succumb to 24/4. But Pant plays himself in and gets going alongside Hardik Pandya to lift India from the ruckus.
At 71/4, the innings is stable with Pant and Pandya well set at the crease. On 32 of 55 balls, Pant has been patient and resilient, timing the ball effortlessly on a difficult wicket. The talent is there for everyone to see. Yet, when Mitchell Santner kept teasing him with flighted balls outside his off-stump, Pant was too eager.
He heaved Santner across the line to depart for 32, leaving India at 71/5. In the Indian T20 League earlier this year, Pant made it a habit of not finishing off matches he ideally should have.
Batting in the middle-order for the Delhi franchise, Pant was diligent and his flashy self. This yielded runs but it came at a price. When he threw his wicket away, he was exposing a very shaky lower middle-order and it often let Delhi down.
This is perhaps the only fault in Rishabh Pant. He is among the most talented T20 batsmen going around the world but when it comes to chaining his emotions and finding the right tempo for an innings, Pant lags behind, and not just by a bit.
Earmarked as Dhoni's successor, the one thing that Pant doesn't have that Dhoni has could prove to be his downfall - patience. Can the young man turn this dismal trend around? It will take time but unless it happens soon, the fans and management might just decide that his time is up.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Dibyangshu Sarkar
