Rishabh Pant, a left-hander, broke MS Dhoni’s record for the fastest century by an Indian batter in Test cricket on July 1. On Day one of the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham, the southpaw scored an 89-ball century against Ben Stokes’ England.
Pant came to bat in the post-lunch session after India lost three early wickets in quick succession: Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Virat Kohli. Pant then sped away to a half-century off 51 balls.
Dhoni scored 93-ball century back in 2006
Pant stepped on the gas after reaching fifty and racked up his century in record time. The now 40-year-old Dhoni scored a 93-ball century back in January 2006 against Pakistan in Faisalabad and he held the record for 16 years.
Pant is also one century short of Dhoni’s record of most centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper in Test cricket. Moreover, Pant has scored four out of the eight overseas hundreds that Indian keepers have got.
First to score more than one overseas century
The 24-year-old Pant also became the first visiting wicketkeeper to score more than one overseas century on English soil.
After India lost a few early wickets, Pant and Ravindra Jadeja staged a stupendous comeback for the visiting team. Even as Pant played his shots without nurturing any inhibition, Jadeja put his head down and lent his partner the required support.
Pant hit his first overseas century against England in September 2018 at the Kennington Oval in London during the fourth Test. It was the same four-match Test series in which Pant, who was born in Uttarakhand, made his Test debut.
