Rishabh Pant reached a special milestone on day 5 of the Brisbane Test against Australia as he went past 1000 runs in Tests. The young wicketkeeper came out to bat after Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed by Pat Cummins for a counter-attacking 24 off 22 balls as India were very much in the hunt for a win at the Gabba on Tuesday. Rishabh Pant reached the landmark when he pulled a short ball from Pat Cummins to the deep backward square leg for a couple. Cheteshwar Pujara, on the other hand, once again stonewalled the Australian bowlers as he neared fifty and almost came close to playing 200 balls in the fourth innings of the Test match. Rishabh Pant reached the landmark in just his 27th innings, making him the fastest wicketkeeper-batsman from India to reach the landmark, breaking the record set by MS Dhoni of 32 innings.
In the Sydney Test, Rishabh Pant almost helped India pull off an improbable win as he blasted 97 which included 12 fours and three sixes. However, with his dismissal on 97, Rishabh Pant missed out on a chance to score his second century against Australia and his 2nd at the historic Sydney Cricket Ground. During the first innings of the Brisbane Test, he was dismissed for 23 as he missed out on a chance for 12 consecutive 25+ scores for a player in Tests in Australia. However, in this series, Rishabh Pant has been proactive with the bat although his keeping has suffered blips, notably in the Sydney Test when he dropped Will Pucovski twice.
Pant sledges Australia again
Rishabh Pant has been in the news yet again as he became viral on Monday by his rendition of the Desi Spiderman song behind the stumps. The amount of chatter that Rishabh Pant has had behind the stumps in the last couple of games is indicative that he has the mental edge over the Australians but his sledging has sharply divided opinions on social media, with some calling him to tone it down.
Rishabh Pant has enjoyed a good game behind the stumps in Brisbane and if he stays there till the end, then India would have created history and ended Australia's 32-year unbeaten run at the Gabba. Australia last lost a Test in 1988 to the West Indies. India, on the other hand, has not chased 300 in Australia although they came close in 2014 and 1977 in Adelaide and Brisbane respectively.
