The nervous nineties is never a position any batter wishes to be in, and nothing stings more than giving into the same whilst on the field.
Rishabh Pant would know it all too well today, as the wicketkeeper-batter succumbed a mere run away from what would have been a well-deserved century, to fall to NZ’s William O’Rourke on 99 in Bengaluru.
Pant, who had come into the crease at the beginning of the day alongside Sarfaraz Khan, hadn’t lost a pep in his step, and went on to attack the NZ bowlers in typical Pant fashion.
The wicket-keeper batter reached his fifty in quick time, whilst partner-in-crime Sarfaraz Khan walloped the NZ bowling lineup en route to his maiden century and his inevitable 150 as well.
Pant achieved a milestone of hsi own, reaching 2500 Test runs in just 62 innings, surpassing the previous record for fastest Indian wicketkeeper to the milestone held by former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who reached the landmark in 69 innings.
Even after Sarfaraz’s dismissal, Pant continued his onslaught slashing and dashing his way to the nineties.
And with just one run needed to reach his century, all hell would break loose for him as he would try to to tuck the bat behind the line while trying to leave a short ball from O’Rourke but only end up poking it to Blundell at the stumps to be dismissed.
With his dismissal, Pant now becomes the 11th Indian to be dismissed for 99 in Tests, as he joins the likes of iconic personalities such as MS Dhoni, Saourav Ganguly and many more.
Indians to be Dismissed for 99 in Tests:
- Rishabh Pant
- Murali Vijay
- MS Dhoni
- Virender Sehwag
- Sourav Ganguly
- Navjot Singh Sidhu
- Mohammed Azharuddin
- Ajit Wadekar
- Rusi Surti
- Motganhalli Jaisimha
- Pankaj Roy
India mounted a spirited fightback, reaching 344/3 as rain enforced early lunch. Pant’s aggressive innings played a crucial role in India’s resurgence, alongside Sarfaraz Khan, who scored his maiden Test century.
India resumed Day 4 at 231/3 with Pant and Sarfaraz tasked with steering India closer to the target. Despite suffering a knee injury while keeping on Day 3, Pant showed no signs of discomfort as he took charge with his trademark aggressive style, as India took the lead over NZ.
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