Sydney: Amidst the quick fall of wickets for the Indian team, Rishabh Pant played an aggressive knock of 61 runs from 33 deliveries. The left-handed batter walked in the middle when India were at 59/3. He then played a swashbuckling knock to steady the innings to some extent. During his knock, he scripted history becoming the batter to score the fastest fifty on Australian soil by a visiting batter by completing his fifty in 29 balls. The previous record was owned by England's John Brown (Melbourne 1895) and West Indies' Roy Fredericks (Perth 1975) who scored fifty in 33 deliveries.
Also, he scored the second-fastest fifty for India in Test cricket surpassing Kapil Dev’s previous record of reaching his half-century in just 30 deliveries in 1982. After walking in the middle at 59/3. Pant helped the team cross the 100-run mark in the second innings. His knock was laced with six maximums and four boundaries. He was the sole half-centurion in the innings where the top-order struggled to muster runs.
All boundaries of Rishabh Pant today 🔥
— Abhishek (@vicharabhio) January 4, 2025
Exquisite batting!pic.twitter.com/ngD1xC9VjA
Fastest 50s for India in Tests (by balls faced)
- 28 Rishabh Pant vs SL Bengaluru 2022
- 29 Rishabh Pant vs Aus Sydney 2025 *
- 30 Kapil Dev vs Pak Karachi 1982
- 31 Shardul Thakur vs Eng The Oval 2021
- 31 Yashasvi Jaiswal vs Ban Kanpur 2024
With the bowlers of both teams bowling lethal spells, the match is evenly poised at the moment. India posted only 185 runs in the first innings as Scott Boland picked up four wickets. In response, the Indian bowling unit spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah wrapped up the Australian innings on 181.
