Veteran commentator Aakash Chopra added that Rishabh Pant should walk out to the middle alongside Sarfaraz Khan at the start of Day 4 of the first Test between India and New Zealand in Bengaluru as well. He also feels that India will emerge victorious if they set a 125-run target as well.

During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Chopra said, “The next should be Rishabh Pant only because he is a left-hander and the designated No. 5 batter. He is coming after scoring a century two Test matches back. He was also the highest run-scorer in the first innings. So then why not Rishabh Pant?” he responded.

“After that, you have KL Rahul and then our two proper all-rounders, (Ravindra) Jadeja and (Ravichandran) Ashwin, because Jaddu will come first. Till how many runs do you need to reach? If a declaration or how many runs you need comes to your mind, you have won the match. The big question is whether you can reach there. I don’t see New Zealand scoring 125 runs here in the fourth innings. I feel it will be difficult. However, you don’t declare after being 125 runs ahead. You declare when you are 200-250 runs ahead. Then you do reverse counting, as to how many overs you need to get them out. If you reach there, the game is over,” he further added.

In the same discussion, Aakash Chopra also added that India have a great chance of creating history by winning the Test against New Zealand.

“India are standing on the verge of history. They are 125 behind for sure but there is a lot of depth in batting. Ashwin comes at No. 8 and Kuldeep (Yadav) comes after that. The only caveat is that they shouldn’t lose wickets in a bunch. A wicket has fallen now. The next wicket shouldn’t fall for the next 15 overs. If you make slabs of 15-15 overs, by the time the 10th wicket falls, India will reach a position where they will be standing on the doorsteps of history,” Aakash Chopra concluded.