India’s swashbuckling wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant showcased once again the love he has for Test cricket. With a century against Bangladesh in Chennai, Pant soared back to his best in the whites. But, it wasn’t just his strokeplay that got everyone’s attention. The wicket-keeper batter was also spotted setting the field for Bangladesh during an instance, an act that once MS Dhoni also executed on the ground. After the completion of the match, Pant was asked about the act, and he give an incredible reason.
“Firstly, I keep talking to Ajay bhai off the field. He says that ‘the quality of cricket should keep improving’. Wherever you are playing and whoever you are playing against. I saw that there was no fielder there (mid-wicket). I saw two fielders at the same area. So I told them to move one fielder to the mid-field position,” Rishabh said after the match.
Always in the captain’s ear, even when it’s the opposition’s!
Never change, Rishabh Pant!#INDvBAN #IDFCFirstBankTestSeries #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/PgEr1DyhmE
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) September 21, 2024
In the match, Pant hit his sixth Test century, his first since returning to competitive cricket after recovering from injuries that he suffered during a near-fatal car crash in December 2022.
Thanks to centuries by Pant and Shubman Gill, India set Bangladesh a gigantic target of 515 to chase. The tourists started well but didn’t have the required gas in the tank to go all the way. They were bowled out for 234 in their second innings at Chepauk.
“100 was special because I love playing in Chennai. After injury I wanted to play all three formats and this was my first Test. Hope to get better every day,” Pant said after the India’s 280-run win.
“It was emotional, I wanted to score each and every match which didn’t happen but wanted to do well in Tests, which is where I belong the most. Being on the field gives me pleasure more than anything else.” “I am always nervous before matches, even after hitting a hundred. And this time I was playing after two years, so nervousness there,” he added.
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