Hyderabad:A smack to the ball and then the confident trudge at the pitch. The ball touches the ropes of the boundary, and the celebration began. Crowds pounded the drums heavily and others, hands in the air, flashed victory signs. The Australian spectator, known as the most educated lot in the game of cricket, lustily clapped despite the loss.
These were the scenes at Gabba where Rishabh Pant's whirlwind knock propelled India to a famous victory against Australia. His heroics has been unprecedented since then even as his career trajectory has only moved upwards. His innings against England where he reverse-scooped the great Jimmy Anderson has been the stuff of folklore. Pant almost took India at the doorstep of victory against England in the one-off Test match this month.
Read: Venus Williams to make singles comeback with National Bank Open
A superstar in the making, what now for him?
World's fastest bowler and legendary Shoaib Akhtar has predicted that Pant can add another feather to his cap if he shed a few extra pounds. "He can emerge as a model," he says on his YouTube channel. "He is a little overweight. I hope he takes care of that. Because the Indian market is big. He's good-looking. He can emerge as a model, earn in crores. Because whenever a person becomes a superstar in India, a lot of investment is made on them," the legendary Pakistan pacer makes a point.
Akhtar heaped praise on the batter for his extraordinary display of strength of character where he seemed to be mastering the skill of chase and coming up with match-winning innings when put in a spot. Pant struck a match-defining hundred, scoring 125 not out, and along with Hardik Pandya (71), he formed a potent combination to clinch the series for India. The visitors chased down the 260-run target with as many as eight overs still to be bowled.
Read: England beat Spain 2-1 to reach Euro 2022 semifinals
Akhtar praised Pant's wide array of shots that has helped his team to win matches in tough situations. "Rishabh Pant is a fearless cricketer. He has the cut shot, pull shot, reverse sweep, slog sweep and paddle sweep. He won the (Test) match in Australia, he won the match here (in England) and took India to a series victory single-handedly," he said.
India registered victory over England in T20 series -- 2-1 and ODIs -- 2-1, after losing the one-off Test match. The team will now face West Indies in ODI and T20s, slated from July 27.
