Birthday special: Rishabh Pant – His best knocks across formats
Rishabh Pant is a batsman who can send shivers down the spine of the opposition. Pant can impose himself on the bowlers, and can nonchalantly dispatch the ball to wherever he wants to. The left-handed batsman has played 25 Tests, 18 ODIs and 32 T20Is for India.
While he has scored 1549 runs in Test cricket, he has amassed 529 runs in the ODI format of the game. Pant has also scored 512 runs in T20Is as well. He has also played 80 matches in the IPL, and has scored 2416 runs at a strike rate of close to 150. With the dashing batsman turning 24 today, let us take a look at one best knock of Pant in Tests, ODIs, T20Is and IPL each.
Tests – 89* vs Australia
This will go down as one of the most memorable knocks in the history of Indian Test folklore, as this knock helped India to beat Australia in a Test series in their own backyard in January 2021. In the 4th Test at the Gabba with the series level at 1-1, Australia batted first and scored 369, and India replied with a total of 336.
The kangaroos were bowled out for 294 in the second innings, which meant that the Indian side was set a challenging target of 328 for victory. And, that is when Pant stepped up to the task. The left-hander scored a classy 138-ball 89*, stayed till the end, and ensured that India went past the target set by Australia with 3 wickets to spare.
ODIs – 78 (62) vs England
On 28th March 2021, Rishabh Pant played his best ODI innings. India batted first and posted a total of 329 on the board, and Rishabh Pant played an important role in helping India reach that total. The left-handed batsman scored a 62-ball 78, and his innings was embellished with 5 fours and 4 sixes.
The England side gave a tough fight in reply, but could only manage to post a total of 322/9, falling short by just 7 runs.
T20Is – 58 (38) vs West Indies
Rishabh Pant played a crucial role in India’s victory against the West Indies on 11th November 2018. Wielding the willow first, the West Indian outfit posted a total of 181/3 on the board in their allotted 20 overs. In reply, it was Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant who helped India chase down the target with 6 wickets to spare.
While Dhawan scored 92 off 62 deliveries, Pant helped himself to a dashing 38-ball 58. Pant scored 5 fours and 3 sixes in his stay out in the middle, as India chased down the target successfully.
IPL – 128* (63) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
Rishabh Pant’s best knock in IPL cricket came on 10th May 2018, against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) side. Batting first, the Delhi Capitals posted a total of 187/5 on the board, and Rishabh Pant went totally berserk. In an innings filled with 15 fours and 7 sixes, the left-hander hammered 128* off just 63 balls.
The next highest run-scorer was Harshal Patel, who scored 24. However, led by a blazing 92* from Shikhar Dhawan, the Hyderabad side won the match with 9 wickets to spare.
