India vs West Indies 1st T20I: Rishabh Pant does an ‘MS Dhoni’, prompts skipper Virat Kohli to make successful DRS call

With MS Dhoni missing out on the India’s ongoing series against West Indies, the onus of his duties behind the stumps will be taken by the young Rishabh Pant. Apart from wicketkeeper and a finisher, Dhoni is also known for making accurate on-field decisions, including accurate DRS calls. In the first T20I against Windies in Fort Lauderhill in Florida, Pant stepped up to fill the shoes, and surprisingly, they fit.

In the final over of Windies’ innings, Kieron Pollard was trapped on a full toss delivery from Navdeep Saini. India made a feeble appeal, believing that the allrounder has got a nick on the ball.

Also read: Gautam Gambhir blasts former India crickets after Navdeep Saini’s impressive debut

But Pant immediately stepped up and prompted skipper Virat Kohli to make a DRS call. Surprisingly, there was no touch of the bat on the ball and the ball was hitting the middle and leg stump. The umpire had to change his decision and Pollard had to walk back for 49.

The twitterati was quick to compare Pant with the former India skipper MS Dhoni.

Before the start of the match, Kohli had egged Pant to make the best of the opportunity in Dhoni’s absence. Speaking at a press conference, the Indian captain said: “It’s a great opportunity for someone like Rishabh Pant to really play a lot of international cricket, show his credentials, really unleash his potential at this stage.”

Also read: Navdeep Saini makes international debut for India

“We know how much ability he has and we all want him to become a consistent performer for the Indian cricket team. MS’s experience is always going to be a very, very crucial factor but having said that some of these younger guys have a great opportunity ahead of them and they should just look forward to it,” he had added.

Put into bat, West Indies scored 95 for 9. The debutant Navdeep Saini starred with the ball, picking up three wickets for 17 in his one over.