Rishabh Pant produced a stellar performance with the bat in India’s second innings of the first Test against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
Playing his first Test match since his horrific car accident in December 2022, the wicketkeeper-batter, who scored 39 in the first innings, notched up a sparkling century in the second essay.
Pant scored 109 off 128 balls (13 fours and 4 sixes) and was involved in a 167-run partnership with Shubman Gill, who stayed unbeaten on 119 as India declared their second innings on 287/4, setting a colossal 515-run target for the visitors.
With his sixth century in the format, Rishabh Pant has now equalled former captain MS Dhoni for the most tons by an Indian wicketkeeper in Test cricket.
After the third day’s play at Chepauk, former India cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar lauded Pant, saying that his defensive technique is similar to Dhoni.
"It's a misleading package we see with Rishabh Pant. Underneath that, you will see as many dot balls in his innings at Shubman Gill's so he is willing to also play the defensive game that we have seen many times in the past,” Manjrekar aid while speaking on ESPNcricinfo.
“He has got a pretty good defensive technique, bit like Dhoni, whose defensive technique was quite good. People talk about the leadership and the big-hitting power that Dhoni had, but his defensive technique was pretty good, and the same with Rishabh Pant as well," he added.
Manjrekar expects Rishabh Pant to play a critical role when India travel to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year.
"We've seen these phases but it's about Pant playing as per the situation, sometimes dependent on his mood but also very careful about choosing the right kind of bowlers as long as there were off-spinners bowling, he wasn't taking too many chances. So he is that kind of player who has his own way of getting runs and has his own agenda - a bit like Virender Sehwag. When India goes to Australia, that is when they truly need him,” he remarked.
Coming to the match, Bangladesh did show some resilience in their second innings to reach 158/4 when play was called off due to bad light on Saturday (September 21). The hosts need six wickets to win the Test match and take an unassailable 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
