Rishabh Pant starred with the bat for India on Day 3 of the third Test against South Africa at Newlands, Cape Town.
The wicketkeeper batter was under the scanner for throwing his wicket in the second Test at Johannesburg, but he didn’t let the pressure affect him in the series decider.
Pant arrived in the middle after the visitors lost Cheteshwar Pujara (9) and Ajinkya Rahane (1) early in the first session to find themselves reeling at 58/4 in their second innings.
Amid the pressure situation, the southpaw forged a 94-run stand for the fifth wicket with skipper Virat Kohli to bail the team out of trouble. He dominated the partnership and completed his half-century off just 58 balls.
In the post-lunch session, India suffered a collapse but Pant held the one end firmly and completed his hundred off 133 deliveries. He eventually ran out of partners and stayed unbeaten on 100 as the tourists got bowled out for 198 to set a fourth-innings target of 212 for the Proteas.
It was Rishabh’s fourth ton in Test cricket and with this knock, he also became the first Asian wicketkeeper batter to hit a century in England, Australia, and South Africa in the longest format.
For his sparkling hundred on a difficult surface, Rishabh Pant garnered rich praise from the cricket fraternity on Twitter.
Here are the reactions:
