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India wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant achieved a milestone on the third day of the opening Test against Bangladesh in Chennai on Saturday.
Pant continued to ride high after his impressive showing in the second inning of the opening round of the Duleep Trophy for India B. After enjoying a promising start in the first inning with a 39-run knock, Pant strived hard and celebrated his sixth Test century as the crowd and the Indian team erupted in jubilation. Pant's sixth Test century came in 58 innings as he went level with India's iconic captain, MS Dhoni. As a designated wicketkeeper, Pant is now level with MS Dhoni for most centuries in Test format for India. Dhoni smashed six centuries in his Test career that spanned 2005 to 2014. After Pant and Dhoni, Wriddhiman Saha has three Test hundreds in 54 innings. Throughout his time on the crease, Pant heavily relied on his aggressive strokes to put runs on the board on the benign surface of the MA Chidambaram Stadium. With Shubman Gill on the other side, the Indian duo dictated the flow of play at their will. The 167-run partnership laid the foundation for the hosts to take a dominant position. Pant mixed front-foot and backfoot play in his spectacular innings. To deal with the spinners, he mostly relied on his backfoot game, bought himself time, and picked the gaps. On a couple of occasions, he came down the track to defend and sometimes strike strokes. In the 53rd over, he came down the track and struck a half-volley to clear the boundary rope off Shakib Al Hasan. His innings was laced with 13 fours and four rollicking sixes and came to an end of the bowling of Bangladesh in-form spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz. He blew a kiss towards the sky as he walked to the pavillion . (ANI)
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