Wrong photographs, lengthy regrets: Before Pant, there have been Bradman, Gavaskar, Kapil, KP and Mongia

It’s a shot that he can be blamed for years and Warne would enjoy his personal sledge to match. England, who had yielded a five-run lead within the Trent Bridge Test, had been shaky at 126 for 4 that included the important thing wickets of Mike Atherton and Alec Stewart. Ramprakash had painstakingly stitched out 26 runs from an hour and half of cautious batting. Near the tip of that section, Warne had began to present him the lip, urging him to return down the monitor. “Come on, Ramps, you know you want to,” Warne would say. The pink mist continued to rise and got here to a boil with simply 9 overs left for stumps. Ramprakash charged down the monitor and was stranded as Warne’s basic leg break spun previous the waft for Adam Gilchrist to do the remainder. Ramprakash would later say, “Throughout my Test career I’ve been accused of not playing my shots… and I will be looking to take the attacking option when I can – even if that means going down the pitch to Shane Warne… It’s almost as if in England we would rather a batsman gets out playing a forward-defensive shot than trying to take the attack to the opposition.”
Don Bradman vs England 1932-33
File Footage of Don Bradman enjoying a match on February 26, 1949. (Source: Screengrab)
It was within the notorious Bodyline sequence. Bradman didn’t function within the first Test, which Douglas Jardine’s males wrapped up with their leg principle, triggering speculations that the Don had suffered a nervous breakdown. But a lot to the enjoyment of the Australian followers, he got here for the second Test at Melbourne. A dramatic ovation was given when he walked in at 67 for two that delayed the play for a few minutes. But it was throughout in a blink. Expecting a bouncer, he walked proper throughout his stumps, to exterior off stump, and went for the hook. But the ball didn’t climb as a lot as he thought it will and he chopped the ball on to his stumps. Short pitched bowling cooked his thoughts. It was his first ever first-ball duck. A shocked MCG crowd sat in silence as he walked again to the hut. However, he hit 100 within the second innings to assist Australia win the sport. Throughout that sequence, he would usually predetermine his photographs, shuffling right here and there, usually to the off aspect. It brought on an awesome debate however that’s a narrative for an additional day.
Kapil Dev: Delhi Test towards England, 1984
It was a shot that divided a nation. It break up into two camps – Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, with the previous copping lots of warmth for the selectorial resolution to drop Kapil within the subsequent Test. Even as just lately as couple of years in the past, Gavaskar was displaying an outdated newspaper clipping to show that it wasn’t his resolution. Now, to that shot in Delhi. India had been establishing a goal within the second innings and had reached 214 for five when it occurred. He had simply hit Pat Pocock for a six when he tried going for an additional six subsequent ball, solely to be caught at long-off by Allan Lamb. “I have no regrets. It was stupid of them to have dropped me. Name me a player who was dropped for playing a bad shot. They wanted to make a point because we had lost the Test. In the end, to me it looked a stupid thing because someone was sitting in an important chair,” Kapil would say later.

Kevin Pietersen vs Australia, 2009
A shot that angered former England captain Tony Greig a lot that he urged the captain Andrew Strauss to inform Pietersen that he might be dropped if he performs such photographs. Pietersen was in the course of a dominating innings when he determined to paddle sweep a innocent supply, large exterior off stump, from Nathan Hauritz. Not even Pietersen’s lengthy arms may do this with out throwing up an error. The ball bounded off the inside edge, and popped off his personal helmet and nestled within the palms of short-leg. “Sometimes you have to take a firm stance with these players and I think Pietersen might fall into that category, Greig would say. “It’s Strauss’s job to warn Pietersen if he plays stupid shots.” A 12 months earlier, Pietersen in search of glory, hitting to succeed in 100 had holed out to long-on within the second innings and South Africa chased down the goal.

Nayan Mongia, Vs Pakistan, Chennai 1999
He had performed out of his pores and skin till then to assist Sachin Tendulkar, who was within the midst of a dreamy knock whilst he endured a again spasm, when Mongia combusted. On 52, he went for the good-old soiled slog throughout the road towards a bowler of Wasim Akram’s calibre, no much less and holed out to mid-off. On air Michael Holding would deadpan, “There was no need to play a shot like that!”. The coach Anshuman Gaekwad pointed that dismissal because the turning level as India fell quick by 12 runs. “It hurt so much because we had come so close to victory from nowhere,” Mongia supplied the autopsy remorse.

Damien Martyn vs South Africa 1994
The shot that value that fantastic batsman Damien Martyn six years of worldwide cricket. Australia wanted solely 117 runs to beat South Africa within the new 12 months in Sydney and had been cruising at 51 for 1 when Fanie de Villiers and Allan Donald scythed via to scale back them to 110 for 8. The younger Martyn had scored simply 6 however had battled arduous for 106 minutes. With Craig McDermott for firm, it appeared he would drag Australia residence however instantly, he went for a lofted shot to Allan Donald. Alas, it didn’t clear cowl. Glenn McGrath fell on arrival, and South Africa gained by 5 runs. Martyn was crucified by the media and took six years extra to return to Test cricket.

“At the time I thought it was the worst thing ever, but looking at it from this age, I didn’t deserve to play,” Martyn stated later. “It took me two years to get over it – about a year too long to work it all out.”
Sunil Gavaskar vs West Indies, 1983
Down 0-2, India had been combating to remain alive within the six-Test sequence because the caravan rolled into Kolkata for the fifth Test. Gavaskar was out for a first-ball duck to Malcolm Marshall within the first-innings as India had been bowled out for 241. West Indies, 88 for five at one stage, reached 377. In the second innings, Gavaskar went for his photographs from the beginning. So a lot so, that Wisden would provide its verdict later: “despite India’s grim situation, [he] batted in a fatally carefree fashion”. He slammed 4 fours, acquired to twenty, earlier than trying one other huge slash off Michael Holding, solely to edge it behind. India had been shot out for 90 and West Indies gained the sequence 3-0. The offended Calcutta crowd singled out Gavaskar, pelting the enjoying space with objects and combating with the police earlier than stoning the crew bus. Even his spouse, who was being interviewed along with Clive Lloyd’s spouse, wasn’t spared the ire of the group who threw fruits.
Sunil Gavaskar. (File)
His early mentor Vasu Paranjpe too was dissatisfied with that shot in Kolkata and years later recounted what occurred between the 2. “After a doubtful stroke acquired him out at Calcutta, he promised me he would higher and requested me to sit up for subsequent Test in Chennai, the place he would make amends for his poor displaying in Calcutta. He seemed invincible in that match. (Gavaskar hit a double ton).
Rishabh Pant vs South Africa 2022
A daft swipe, if ever there was one. Rishabh Pant had watched Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane take physique blows in an aggressive partnership earlier than each fell, handing him the baton to hold on their work. It took him simply two balls – an iffy waft and a clumsy fend towards a snorter – to resolve that he had seen sufficient and needed to hit out for some fast runs. Not a nasty thought, contemplating his recreation on tracks on seaming circumstances, however he selected the worst attainable shot to strive his jail break. A shot that he has usually tried up to now, across the cricketing world, to no success. Off he ran down the monitor to Kagiso Rabada and swung for the skies however the hack of a shot didn’t join as he hoped it would.

High-quality stuff from KG Rabada!Turns the tide in direction of South Africa with three fast wickets, breaking the essential partnership between Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara.Dreadful Stuff from Pant!#SAvIND #RishabhPant #Pant #INDvSA #Shardul #Vihari pic.twitter.com/XbhfdAATsM
— OneCricket (@OneCricketApp) January 5, 2022
The skier was caught and India may nicely have misplaced the plot if not for the spectacular fireworks from Shardul Thakur and managed aggression from Hanuma Vihari.