Rishabh Pant received praise from all quarters after a brilliant, counter-attacking 97 on day five of the third Test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The left-hander walked in early on day five at the fall of skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s wicket. India were in all sorts of trouble at that point but by the time Pant was done doing his thing, it was very much game on.
Pant took his time to get going but once he settled down and got his eye in, there were plenty of fireworks at the SCG. The wicketkeeper-batsman was particularly severe on off-spinner Nathan Lyon. He didn’t resist taking the aerial route and played some superb inside-out shots against the senior offie.
The 23-year-old missed out on a much-deserved century by a narrow margin but his 118-ball knock, which included 12 fours and three sixes, and the partnership he put on with Cheteshwar Pujara will be remembered for a long, long time.
Here are some Twitter reactions:
On our hand each finger does a different job, and that’s exactly what @cheteshwar1 and @RishabhPant17 did for #TeamIndia. Wonderful partnership.#ONETEAMONECAUSE#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/sUEwWXXvYj
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 11, 2021
Pant-astic batting display #brutal #AUSvIND @RishabhPant17 WE CAN 🔥
— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) January 11, 2021
Wonderful innings from Pant, his natural instinct should always be embraced. “Live by the sword, die by the sword”#AUSvIND
— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) January 11, 2021
PANT PANT PANT come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn INDIA - @RishabhPant17
— Parth Jindal (@ParthJindal11) January 11, 2021
Rishabh Pant in Australia:
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) January 11, 2021
2018: Entertained us behind the stumps
2021: Entertained us front of the stumps
The closest innings I can think of to Pant’s brilliant 97 is Sehwag’s sizzling 83 while chasing 387 against England. Rousing batting on tricky pitches which made the team believe they could win when everyone else was thinking of a draw.
— Sriram (@sriramin140) January 11, 2021
Rishabh Pant made me do what Baba Ramdev couldn't, breathing exercise early in the morning.. to avoid panic. #AUSvIND
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) January 11, 2021
Honestly believe Pant versus the new ball would have set the ground on fire. Missed it by five balls.
— Jarrod Kimber (@ajarrodkimber) January 11, 2021
If @RishabhPant17 can improve his wk skills by 10-15%, his influence on the contemporary game could well be similar to what Adam Gilchrist’s was in the preceding era
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) January 11, 2021
Rishabh Pant has dragged himself off the @scg, kicking the boundary rope on his way out. He had the Aussies rattled for sure. Unfortunate his wicket has come on the cusp of the second new ball #AUSvIND
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) January 11, 2021
Pant batting, I will always turn the TV on. Great innings comes to an end. A 100 was deserved. #INDvAUS #cricket
— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) January 11, 2021
Rishabh Pant scored 49 runs against Nathan Lyon from 58 balls today. He played 40 dot balls which he means scored 49 runs in rest 18 balls at a SR of 272.22, hitting five fours and three sixes.#AUSvIND
— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) January 11, 2021
The century wasn't to be. But it is easily Pant's best test innings. You can't fault him the shot because it was many of those that offered a glimmer of victory when none believed it was possible.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 11, 2021
Win or lose that was one heck of a morning session. Especially special given the batsmen involved: you can see Pant and Pujara batting together in only one form of the game. And to watch their contrasting styles is such a treat.
— Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) January 11, 2021
Most 6s For India at age of 23
— CricBeat (@Cric_beat) January 11, 2021
Suresh Raina - 77
Sachin Tendulkar - 58
Irfan Pathan - 53
Rishabh Pant - 50*#INDvAUS
Live by the sword, die by the sword. What a stunning innings from Rishabh Pant.
— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) January 11, 2021
Looks like the Indian dressing room is following the old superstition of not moving from your seats. @ashwinravi99 has not sat down since Rishabh Pant walked out while Vihari has been on the same seat #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/a47xAbHdj6
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) January 11, 2021
Broken elbow. 407 4th innings chase. Facing Starc, Cummins, Josh, Lyon. Walking in to bat at 117-3 after being promoted, Pant's played an innings of a lifetime. His 97(118) is one of the GOAT knocks, irrespective of the result. He lived by the sword & died by it. A true warrior.
— Srini Mama (@SriniMaama16) January 11, 2021
The kind of knock one’s always been talking about, right? Chips are down and a little fearless counter attacking madness which ruffles up the opposition. Pant’s blitz has kept us alive .. Whatever the result - That was special @RishabhPant17 #IndvAus
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) January 11, 2021
Be immediately suspicious of anyone who says Pant can't play international cricket.
— Varun Shetty (@varunshetty) January 11, 2021
A counter-attacking 97 in a fourth innings chase in Australia.
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) January 11, 2021
Please keep this in mind the next time you are tempted to not back Pant.
At this age, he's this good, if he keeps working on the game, how good he'll turn out to be.
Team #PantFC forever! 💪 pic.twitter.com/6KFxdep8lr
Pant averages 146 at SCG in Test cricket.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 11, 2021
If you bring up Pant's hundreds on Twitter they come at you with, it was a flat wicket at SCG couple of years back. Was a dead game on another flat track at Old Trafford. Some just find it hard to accept this guy has cracked Test cricket with an approach they don't quite enjoy
— Prashanth (@ps_it_is) January 11, 2021
Rishabh Pant in fourth innings of Test matches:
— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) January 11, 2021
18
114
30
97
With a 250-run cutoff, no Indian has a better average than his 64.75.
Ugh! That sucks. I was so certain of a Pant 💯 I was ready to tweet for it! Great innings from him regardless. A good breakthrough for Australia. I am excited for this game! What a battle. And India’s team is so depleted with injury - yet they fight on.🇮🇳🇦🇺 #AUSvIND
— Chloe-Amanda Bailey (@ChloeAmandaB) January 11, 2021
The Test was dead when Pant walked out this morning, and here we are four hours later utterly gripped.
— Yas Rana (@Yas_Wisden) January 11, 2021
Freak of a batsman. #AUSvIND
#AUSvIND #INDvAUS
— The Field (@thefield_in) January 11, 2021
Describe that Pant innings in one word. pic.twitter.com/eUEJOMtLDn