Rishabh Pant joins Rohit Sharma in an elite list of Test batters with a special record
Team India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant has broken yet another record in his short Test career so far, becoming the second-fastest Indian to hit 50 sixes in the longest format.
The southpaw achieved this feat in just 54 innings, three more than Rohit Sharma (51), and is third in the all-time list with Shahid Afridi (46) at the top. Pant reached this milestone during the second session of Day 1 of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chattogram on Wednesday.
Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan tried to come around the wicket and cramp Rishabh Pant for room. But he could only deliver a juicy full toss that was deposited over mid-wicket by the southpaw for his 50th six in Tests.
Fastest 50 Sixes in Test Cricket:
•Shahid Afridi - 46
•Rohit Sharma - 51
•Rishabh Pant - 54*
•Tim Southee - 60
•Andrew Flintoff - 71
Rishabh Pant's 46 was crucial in giving Indian innings impetus
KL Rahul won the toss and opted to bat first on what looked like a great batting wicket. He and Shubman Gill started patiently and ensured that they got through the initial new-ball burst from the hosts.
However, the introduction of Taijul Islam brought Bangladesh roaring back into the contest as he picked up a couple of big wickets in Gill and Virat Kohli. Captain Rahul also departed after a soft dismissal and suddenly from 41-0, India were in deep trouble at 48/3.
Cheteshwar Pujara proved to be an ideal foil to Pant, who continued to play his own brand of cricket in Tests. The southpaw took calculated risks and ensured that his knock of 46 gave his team some much-needed momentum.
India are at 158/4 at the time of writing.
Rishabh Pant in Test cricket in the last innings:
- 100*.
- 96.
- 39.
- 50.
- 146.
- 57.
- 46.
- 534 runs at an average of 89, he's a superstar of this format! https://t.co/LC6JzXwP4j
India XI: KL Rahul (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
Bangladesh XI: Najmul Hossain Shanto, Zakir Hasan, Mushiqur Rahim, Yasir Ali, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Das, Nurul Hasan (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain.