Srinagar: Rishabh Pant made a stunning comeback Team India test team by smashing a brilliant century in the first Test vs Bangladesh.
After a life threatening incident, Pant made comeback to Test Cricket after a gap of 637 days.
Walking in to bat during the 20th over of India’s second innings, Pant arrived at a critical juncture with India in a relative spot of bother after the dismissal of Virat Kohli for 17. With captain Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal both failing to register big scores, India faced a minor top-order collapse after holding a commanding 227-run lead from the first innings.
Pant, however, showed maturity in navigating the challenge alongside Shubman Gill, staying firm through the tense final overs of Day 2.
Pant’s half-century came off 88 balls, a knock slower than usual for the attacking batter, but reflective of the maturity he brought to his comeback.
With rain forecasts looming over Days 4 and 5, Pant and Gill shifted gears after their respective half-centuries, accelerating the scoring rate to take advantage of Bangladesh’s increasingly demoralising body language.
By the lunch break, India had extended their lead to a commanding 432 runs with seven wickets still in hand, putting the visitors under immense pressure. Pant’s century came in 124 deliveries, and the batter thus marked a triumphant return to Test cricket.
With his sixth century in the format, Rishabh Pant has now equalled former captain MS Dhoni for the most tons by an Indian wicketkeeper in Test cricket.
Dhoni played 90 Tests in his illustrious international career, Pant equalled the former skipper’s record in just 34 appearances in the format.
Most tons by Indian WKs in Test:
6* – Rishabh Pant
6 – MS Dhoni
3 – Wriddhiman Saha
The Indian wicketkeeper-batter was eventually dismissed for 109.