Rishabh Pant Scores Second Fastest Indian Test 50: Rishabh Pant scored the second-fastest 50 for an Indian Cricket Team player in the history of Test cricket on Day Two of the ongoing Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Today was Day Two of the fifth and final Australia vs India Test match, being played at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The day started with Australia at 9/1 and trailing by 176 runs.
The Indian bowling unit hit the ground running today, taking three wickets within 10 overs of the start of the day’s play. Steve Smith and debutant Beau Webster stabilised the Aussie innings, with Webster even scoring a 50 on debut. But another collapse later in the inning resulted in the home side getting out for 181, trailing in the first inning by four runs.
Check Out: Rishabh Pant Scores Second Fastest Indian Test 50
With a narrow lead in the first inning, India got off to a solid start in their batting. However, before the 10-over mark, both the openers departed. Virat Kohli’s dismissal soon after resulted in Rishabh Pant taking strike. And with a dangerous Scott Boland on song charging in to bowl, the Indian wicketkeeper hits him for a six on his first ball of the inning.
This six set a pattern for the volley to come. Not looking to take it slow like he did in the first inning of this match, Pant took the Australian bowlers on and almost exclusively dealt in boundaries.
With six ‘4s’ and four ‘6s’ in his inning, Rishabh Pant set the SCG ablaze and went on to score a 50. But this was no regular Test match half-century; this was a 50 in mere 29 deliveries.
Rishabh Pant Scores Second Fastest Indian Test 50
This made it not only a 50 in a similar manner to that in a T20 game, but this was the second-fastest 50 by an Indian in this format ever. With a 29-ball half-century, the 27-year-old nearly broke his own record of scoring one in just 28 deliveries against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru in 2022, which is still the fastest 50 by an Indian in Test cricket.
Even after reaching the milestone, Rishabh didn’t slow down and hit a couple more boundaries before getting dismissed for 61 in 33 deliveries.
Throughout this series, Rishabh Pant has been criticised for his poor shot selection and ‘inability’ to play according to the situation. In the fourth Test in Melbourne, Sunil Gavaskar infamously went on a tirade at Pant’s dismissal in the first inning, calling it stupid.
But his half-century today puts India in a decent spot at 141/6 at the end of the day’s play with a 145-run lead in the third inning on Day Two. With the Indian Cricket Team winning the previous Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the winner of this match will take the trophy home, despite Australia currently leading the series 2-1.
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