Known for playing fearless brand of cricket, India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant replicated his reverse-sweep against Anderson as he smashed Jofra Archer for a maximum in the T20I series opener against England. The instance happened on the penultimate delivery of the fourth over bowled by Archer on Friday.
Pant premeditated the shot and hit it over the third man for six, reminding fans of his audacious reverse-sweep against Anderson in the recently-concluded Test series. Pant, in the fourth Test against England, had notched up his third Test ton (101 off 118 deliveries) as India clinched the final Test and wrapped the series 3-1 in Ahmedabad.
Earlier, India lost three early wickets after being put to bat first at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. While KL Rahul got bowled by Archer in the second over, skipper Virat Kohli walked back on a duck off Adil Rashid's delivery. Shikhar Dhawan was also dismissed on 4 by Mark Wood as India were left reeling on 20/3 after the first five overs.
After losing the toss, Kohli revealed that opener Rohit Sharma has been rested for a 'couple of games' and the Rahul-Dhawan duo will be starting the innings.
This T20I series will also serve as a preparation ground for both sides, given the ICC T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played later this year. Kohli's men will be high on confidence as they defeated England in the four-match Test series 3-1 and booked a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand.
