Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant says the hundred that he struck in the recently-concluded pink-ball warm-up game was just the confidence-booster he needed ahead of the Test series against Australia starting December 17.
Pant, who struggled with fitness and form in this year’s IPL in the UAE, created a happy selection dilemma for the Indian team management by smashing a 73-ball 103 in the visitors’ second innings against Australia A in the second practice game.
“When I went out to bat a lot of overs were left, so (Hanuma) Vihari and I wanted to build a good partnership. We wanted to bat as much as possible. I was just trying to give myself as much time as possible and slowly I started to develop confidence,” Pant told the BCCI’s official website.
“This hundred has been a big confidence-booster for me. It’s been a month, I am in Australia but I didn’t get the chance to play in the first practice match because of a stiff neck.
“In the first innings here I was unlucky as I felt the LBW decision was wrong from the umpire. In the second innings, my focus was to spend as much time as possible and the result is I got a good innings under my belt,” he said.
The 23-year-old left-hander said the team's main focus in the second practice game, as a batting unit, was to spend time in the middle against the pink ball.