Rishabh Pant during the India vs Bangladesh first Test.© AFP
Former cricketers Irfan Pathan and Michael Vaughan lavished praise on Rishabh Pant for his splendid outing in the second inning of the opening Test against Bangladesh in Chennai. After being involved in a life-threatening accident in December 2022, Pant's return to Test format for India has begun on a fairytale note. After Pant's promising knock ended on 39 in the first inning, he dug deep and raised his bat to celebrate a memorable century in Chennai in the opening Test against Bangladesh.
Pant forged his 109-run knock by mixing up his front-foot and backfoot play. To deal with the spinners, he mostly relied on his backfoot game, bought himself time, and picked the gaps according to his ease.
Former England cricketer Vaughan had special praise in store for the southpaw batter and stated that cricket is a better place when Pant is playing on the field.
What a comeback for @RishabhPant17 .. The game is a better place when he is playing .. The resilience he has shown to get back playing is remarkable .. #IndVsBan
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) September 21, 2024
"What a comeback for Rishabh Pant. The game is a better place when he is playing. The resilience he has shown to get back playing is remarkable," Vaughan wrote on X.
Former India all-rounder labelled Pant as the nation's Test cricket's "ultimate match winner" after his sensational display.
Indian test cricket's ultimate match winner @RishabhPant17 well done on your buddy.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 21, 2024
"Indian test cricket's ultimate match winner Rishabh Pant, well done on you buddy," Pathan wrote on X.
Pant's impressive inning laced with 13 fours and four mouthwatering sixes was brought to an end by Mehidy Hasan Miraz. He cushioned it back to the Bangladesh spinner, which brought an end to his sensational display. He walked back with applause from the crowd and blew a kiss towards heaven
After Pant's display, three wickets from seasoned spinner Ravichandran Ashwin pushed back Bangladesh in their massive 515 run chase.
At the end of day three, Bangladesh's score stood at 158/4, with skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (51*) and Shakib Al Hasan (5*) unbeaten. Bangladesh started the final session at 56/0 with Shadman Islam (21) and Zakir Hasan (32) unbeaten on the crease.
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