"Vintage Rishabh Pant is back, ab hogi badmoshi" - Fans react as Pant scores 61 off 47 balls in Duleep Trophy
After failing in the first innings, Rishabh Pant made amends in the second essay of the ongoing 2024 Duleep Trophy match between India A and India B at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, September 7. The left-hander scored 61 runs off 47 balls, a knock laced with two sixes and nine boundaries.
Pant also shared a crucial 72-run partnership with Sarfaraz Khan during his impressive knock after his team was reduced to 22/3. The southpaw then stitched together a 46-run stand with Nitish Reddy to stretch his team's second innings lead past 200.
Pant departed for seven runs off 10 balls in the first innings. The 26-year-old will now look to continue his consistent performance ahead of the Test season, where Team India will play 10 Tests from mid-September 2024 till early January next year.
He is critical to India's success against Bangladesh, New Zealand, and especially against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. After returning for T20Is and ODIs this year, he will play his first Test against Bangladesh this month after recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident in December 2022.
Fans on X lauded Rishabh Pant for returning back to form with a gusty fifty in the 2024 Duleep Trophy. One user wrote:
"WELL PLAYED, RISHABH PANT...!!! - 61 runs from just 47 balls including 9 fours & 2 sixes. Great news for the Indian team ahead of the important Test season."
Another user wrote:
"61 (47) with 9 fours and 2 sixes - 130 Strike Rate in a First Class match, vintage Pant is back even after missing 21 months of Red Ball cricket."
A third user added:
"The red ball monster is back."
Here are a few more reactions:
Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan help India B bounce back after torrid start
A crucial partnership between Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan helped India B bounce back against India A in the 2024 Duleep Trophy match. Sarfaraz scored 46 runs off 36 balls, comprising one six and seven boundaries.
At the time of writing, India B were 150/6 in the second innings, with Washington Sundar at the crease. They have stretched their second innings lead to 240.
Follow the Duleep Trophy live score and updates here.