In the 2nd innings of the Duleep Trophy match at the Chinnaswamy, Rishabh Pant scored a wonderful half-century for India B team to announce his return to the game’s longest format.
The BCCI uploaded a video from their ‘BCCI Domestic’ account on X, which showcased the Indian Test maestro and batting sensation scoring a quickfire 50. His knock helped India B to rescue from a struggling loss of the top-order.
He came in to bat when India had already lost the likes of skipper Easwaran, young batting sensation Jaiswal and first innings centurion Musheer Khan. The India B team were struggling, as Pant came in to bat alongside Sarfaraz Khan.
Pant scored a quickfire 50 in just 34 balls even as Sarfaraz had also added quickfire 46 runs off just 36 balls. This innings was largely lauded by the fans, as Pant seemed to be back in his old groove.
India B ended the Day 3 with the score of 150/6 in their second essay. Rishabh Pant emerged as the batter with the highest score, amassing 61 runs off 47 balls.
Rishabh Pant is making a comeback to Test Cricket after 634 Days
Pant was injured for nearly two years after his unfortunate accident in December 2022. The accident occurred while he was driving his Mercedes SUV down. Rishabh Pant has not been seen in competitive cricket, since then.
Pant made a return to cricket with the Delhi Capitals as he was seen playing as well as captaining for the side in IPL 2024. He was next taken into India’s T20 World Cup team and went on to win the World Cup after a historic 13 years.
Rishabh also made a return to ODI in the final game of the ODI series against Sri Lanka, replacing KL Rahul. Besides, Pant made an appearance in the inaugural season of the Delhi Premier League.
Rishabh Pant has developed a reputation of India’s finest ranked Test wicket-keeper batter and was known for his signature explosive batting style. With his performance in the Duleep Trophy kept in mind, Pant should bag a place in the Indian side. India yet to announce the squad for the home series against Bangladesh and New Zealand.
Pant, who was India’s star attraction in the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which was held back in 2022, will again look to feature for them in 2024.