Bengaluru (Karnataka):Star batter Rishabh Pant failed to surpass former India skipper and wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni's record to become the Indian wicket-keeper with the most Test hundreds on the fourth day of the first Test between India and New Zealand at M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday, October 19, 2024.
The southpaw came out to bat while being heavily strapped in the morning alongside Sarfaraz Khan. The wicketkeeper-batter was not able to take the field on Day 3 due to swelling in his knee. He was taken off the field on Day 2 when the ball hit his right knee, where three surgeries took place after the accident. Nonetheless, Pant ensured to stand up for his team and showed great intent.
Pant currently has six centuries under his belt, equal with MS Dhoni. Wridhhiman Saha is third on the list with three centuries. The record for most centuries in Test cricket as a wicketkeeper is held by legendary Australia player Adam Gilchrist who has 17 centuries to his name from 96 matches.
Pant has been dismissed in the nervous nineties on seven occasions, six out of them have come in India while one came in Sydney. He ranks third in the list of most dismissals in 90s in Test for India. Former India captain and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has dismissed in 90s on 10 occasions while former India coach and batting stalwart Rahul Dravid has got out on nine attempts. This was his third 90+ score in the third innings of the Test match. He became the first Indian to get out on 99 since 2013, i.e. in last 12 years.
Pant was played on to tall right-arm pacer William O’Rourke. However, earlier, in the innings, Rishabh Pant etched yet another record to his name as he became the fastest Indian wicketkeeper to score 2500 Test runs.
Pant achieved the milestone in just 62 innings, surpassing the previous record held by former captain MS Dhoni, who reached the landmark in 69 innings. Farokh Engineer, another former legendary wicketkeeper-batter in Indian cricket, had previously reached the 2,500 figure in 82 innings.