Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has made a prominent place in the Indian cricket circuit thanks to his talent and unorthodox shot-playing ability all around the field.
The southpaw first grabbed attention during his days with the India U19 team, especially in the 2016 World Cup in which India finished runners-up. The flamboyant cricketer continued the same form after being included in the senior team.
Despite being an aggressive batter, Pant has turned out to be a trustworthy name in red-ball cricket. His expertise in the longest format, particularly on foreign soil, is mostly credited for his present stature in the team.
Four years ago, on this day, Pant scripted history by becoming the first Indian wicketkeeper to score a Test hundred in Australia. In the final game of the four-match series, he registered 159 off 189 deliveries in the first innings at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Winning the toss, the then-India skipper Virat Kohli elected to bat first. Opener Mayank Agarwal and experienced batter Chetashwar Pujara both played remarkable knocks, building a concrete foundation. While Agarwal concluded his innings at 77, Pujara fell just 7 runs short of reaching his double hundred and left the crease for 193 runs.
After the brief appearances of Kohli (23), Ajinkya Rahane (18) and Hanuma Vihari (42), the explosive “Pant show” began.
The left-handed batter seemed to be in a destructive mode from the first delivery. He showed no mercy to the Aussie bowling unit, smashing them all around the park. Even fiery pacers like Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood could not find a way to push back against Pant. His innings was laced with as many as 15 boundaries and a single six. The Delhi batter also maintained his iconic style in reaching the 100-mark. Batting at 96, he picked up a poor delivery by spinner Marnus Labuschagne and sent it across the boundary line.
The collective efforts by Pant and other batters helped India post a mammoth total of 622 runs before Kohli decided to declare the first innings. In reply, Australia suffered a follow-on in the first innings and finally managed to end the match in a draw.
Earlier, ex-Indian keeper Farokh Engineer held the record for the highest score by an Indian gloveman in Australia with his score of 89 runs in Adelaide in 1967. The memorable feat brought a few additional records to Pant. He broke legendary captain MS Dhoni’s 12-year-long record of the highest runs by an Indian keeper in an overseas Test. It was in 2006 when Dhoni scored 148 against Pakistan in Faisalabad. Pant also joined Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim in the record for the highest score by an Asian stumper outside the subcontinent.
On 30 December, Pant met with a horrific road accident while driving to Roorkee, Uttarakhand to spend the New Year with his family. His car collided with a road divider near Mohammedpur Jat at around 5:30 am. He suffered a ligament tear in his knee and some deep scratches on his back. Luckily, no fractures, brain or spinal injuries were reported. The 25-year-old is under the observation of a special medical team and could be out of cricket for anywhere from two to six months.
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