Rishabh Pant overtakes MS Dhoni to become fastest wicketkeeper to reach 2500-run mark

Star India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant came to the team’s rescue once again as the team struggled to surpass the 356-run lead given by New Zealand in the Bengaluru Test. Notably, after losing Virat Kohli on the final ball of Day 3, Pant joined hands with Sarfaraz Khan and put up a 177-run stand for the fourth wicket and pulled India out of a hefty deficit, 

Pant was on the brink of scoring a century but he was dismissed by William O'Rourke when he was on 99. This was Pant’s seventh dismissal in the 90s in Tests. Amidst this, he surpassed legendary MS Dhoni’s record and became the fastest Indian wicketkeeper-batter to reach the 2,500-run mark in the longest format of the game.

The southpaw took just 62 innings to reach the milestone, whereas Dhoni consumed 69 innings to reach the figure. Former India captain, Farokh Engineer took 82 innings to reach the 2500 run mark. He also became the second batter with the most number of fifty-plus scores by an Indian wicketkeeper batter in terms of innings.

Rishabh Pant brought up his 12^th fifty in just 55 balls and the batters ended up with a strike rate of 94.29. The impact of his innings could be gauged as he smashed nine boundaries and five maximums. Just before the Tea, India’s scorecard read 438 for six with a lead of 82 runs.

Also Read: Saba Karim reveals interaction with Sarfaraz after England series

Most 50-plus scores for India wicketkeepers in Tests