In a masterclass of commentary that would make a Shakespearean monologue sound tame, veteran cricketer-turned-poet sunil gavaskar bestowed his "eloquence" upon rishabh pant during the ongoing Test series against Australia. After Pant's ill-fated attempt at an audacious scoop shot, Gavaskar unleashed a tirade so passionate it could rival the climax of a bollywood courtroom drama.
The trigger? A ball bowled by Scott Boland that pant, ever the artist, attempted to send into orbit with his knees firmly planted on the ground. Alas, instead of producing a highlight reel moment, pant gifted his wicket on a golden platter to Nathan Lyon.
But it wasn't just a shot; no, it was an event. A moment so profound that Gavaskar, who has seen everything from Kapil's Devils to Kohli's Titans, declared it as an act of ultimate betrayal. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" he thundered, possibly channeling his inner school principal. "You got two fielders there, and you still go for that? You’ve missed the previous shot, and look where you have been caught! At deep third man! That is throwing away your wicket, not in the situation that india was in!"
One could almost hear the violins playing in the background as Gavaskar lamented, "He should not be going in that (India’s) dressing room. He should be going to the other (Australia) dressing room." Such was his despair that even Harsha Bhogle, the voice of calm in cricket commentary, was left startled, blinking like a deer caught in Gavaskar’s headlights.
India's top-order, clearly inspired by the spirit of a sunday practice session, had collapsed earlier in the day. Thankfully, nitish kumar Reddy and washington sundar showed up to rescue the team, proving that the term "all-rounder" isn’t just a consolation prize.
As india crawled to 326/7 by tea, trailing by 148 runs, Pant’s dismissal remained the centerpiece of Gavaskar’s grief, an unforgettable chapter in cricket’s never-ending saga of “Why Did He Do That?”
One thing’s for sure: if cricket ever needs a dramatic rebrand, Gavaskar might just be its next playwright-in-chief.
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