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After winning the hearts of millions of Indian supporters with his scintillating displays in Tests, Rishabh Pant finally opened his century account in white-ball cricket as smacked his maiden ODI ton against England at Old Trafford on Sunday. The India dasher remained unbeaten on 125 off 113 balls as he guided the Rohit Sharma-led side to a memorable 2-1 series triumph over the Three Lions in Manchester. Shortly after Rishabh Pant's majestic knock, Team India's two-time World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh indicated having a 45-minute conversation with him in a tweet that took the internet by storm. Late on Monday night, Rishabh Pant finally replied to Yuvraj Singh's post on Twitter.
“Looks like the 45 minute conversation made sense!! Well played @RishabhPant17 that’s how you pace your innings @hardikpandya7 great to watch #indiavseng,” Yuvraj Singh wrote on Twitter after Rishabh Pant smashed his maiden ODI ton.
The Uttarakhand-born cricket star responded saying, “It did, indeed Yuvi pa.”
It did, indeed Yuvi pa 🙏😉 https://t.co/Yl8FBF648R
— Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) July 18, 2022
Rishabh Pant arrived at the crease with India in trouble at 21/2 after losing both their openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan inside the first five overs after Hardik Pandya (4/24) and Yuzvendra Chahal (3/60) helped the visitors bowl out England for 259 in 45.5 overs.
Despite wickets falling around him, Rishabh Pant remained unperturbed and took a cautious approach at the start of the innings to get accustomed to the pace of the wicket. However, once he found his footing on the pitch, there was no looking back for Rishabh Pant.
Rishabh Pant's resurrection act came in tandem with Hardik Pandya who hit a scintillating 71 off 55 deliveries in a 133-run partnership which brought India back in the match.
After Hardik Pandya’s dismissal, Rishabh Pant upped the ante as he brought up his hundred off 106 balls, also his maiden one in the 50-over format in Manchester.
India eventually went on to achieve the target in 42.1 overs with Rishabh Pant remaining unbeaten on 125 off 113 balls, including 16 fours and two sixes.
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En route to his knock of 125 not out, Rishabh Pant also broke a clutch of records, including MS Dhoni’s record for the highest score by a wicketkeeper-batter in a successful run-chase in SENA countries.
MS Dhoni remained unbeaten on 87 in a 50-over game against Australia in 2019 to guide India to their maiden bilateral series triumph Down Under. Rishabh Pant, however, broke that record with a fair margin as he smashed a scintillating 125* against England at Old Trafford.
With his match-winning three-figure score, Rishabh Pant became just the third Indian wicketkeeper to make a hundred while chasing a target in ODIs. In 2005, MS Dhoni tore apart the Sri Lankan bowling line-up to cruise through to an unbeaten 183 while Rahul Dravid occupied the third position in the list with his 109 not out against West Indies in 2002.
In the post-match presentation ceremony, a delighted Rishabh Pant said that he will always remember his innings at Old Trafford as it was his first ton in ODIs.
“Hopefully I will remember my first ODI century for the rest of my life. But when I was in there, I was just focusing on one ball at a time. When a team is under pressure and you bat like that, that’s what you aspire to do,” Rishabh Pant said.
I enjoy playing in England and will do whatever I can do to keep enjoying my cricket. The more cricket you play, the more experience you get,” Rishabh Pant added.
Since his century at Old Trafford, the southpaw has earned rave reviews from several former cricketers, including Pakistan's Danish Kaneria and India's Ashish Nehra.
“Rishabh Pant, being the player he is, we don't need to discuss what kind of a talent he is. He has shown that in difficult conditions. So, we have to be a little patient, keep our patience with him,” Ashish Nehra told The New Indian Express.
“You know what a guy like Pant can do in the first six overs, and with the field restriction, in the future, with more experience, Rishabh Pant is an all-rounder, he's a big asset for the Indian team in any format,” Ashish Nehra stated.
“Pant’s innings reminded me of Yuvraj and Kaif in the Natwest Trophy final. Even there, the top-order batters were gone in a collapse, the youngsters helped India cross the line,” the former Pakistan leg-spinner said on his YouTube channel.
“Rishabh Pant played with a lot of maturity, he is going to be a world-class player. There are only a few players who can match him in terms of talent. He can even convert his 100s to 200, that's how big a player he is. He is extremely confident as well. If you have players like Pandya and Pant, targets like these become easier to chase,” Danish Kaneria concluded.
