Rishabh Pant breaks MS Dhoni's record; becomes fastest Indian wicket-keeper to reach 50 dismissals in Tests

What's the story?

Rishabh Pant has become the fastest Indian wicket-keeper to claim 50 dismissals behind the stumps, outpacing former skipper, MS Dhoni. Pant achieved this feat in the second Test against the West Indies.

In case you didn't know...

Owing to his attacking brand of cricket and his sparkling batting displays in his short career, Rishabh Pant has often drawn comparisons with MS Dhoni.

The heart of the matter

Even though Pant's batting method has often been criticised in the shorter formats, his performance in Test cricket has been rather impressive. The Delhi-native boasts a Test average of over 44 and has played some stunning innings for India in his nascent Test career. He has also taken huge strides as a wicket-keeper.

In the second Test against West Indies at Jamaica, Rishabh Pant reached his 50th Test dismissal in his 11th Test. West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite edged an Ishant Sharma delivery behind and Pant gobbled up the chance. In the process, the West Indian opener became Pant's 50th victim in Test cricket.

While Pant reached the milestone in his 11th Test, MS Dhoni achieved the feat after 15 Test matches, thereby making the former the quickest Indian to scale that peak.

Interestingly, just like Dhoni, Pant's wicket-keeping skills were questioned by many when he was first selected for the Test side.

However, the keeper has improved massively and he won a lot of accolades for his glove-work in the Test series in Australia.

In the first Test in the same series at Adelaide, the lad from Delhi equalled the world record for most catches by a wicket-keeper in a Test match, taking 11 catches. The 21-year-old drew level with AB De Villiers and Jack Russell.

What's next?

The next Test assignment for the wicket-keeper would be the series at home to South Africa, which begins on the 2nd of October at Vishakhapatnam.

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