Since featuring in a Test match in December 2022 in Bangladesh and missing the whole action in 2023 due to the injuries, he had after the unfortunate accident, India’s wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant celebrated the 634-days of wait with an incredible century in the second innings of the first Test against the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led side at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
In the first innings of the game, the left-handed batter started aggressively when the team was struggling with a few early wickets on the opening day of the game. He collected 39 runs with the help of six boundaries before chasing a wide delivery and getting an outside edge on the blade.
The childhood coach of Rishabh Pant, Devender Sharma, has lavished his praise on the batter and felt that he could have gotten to a hundred in the first innings as well.
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“I am very happy for Rishabh Pant. He could have got a hundred in the first innings also, and I was a bit sad that he didn’t get that.” Devendra, who has mentored the wicket-keeper batter since his pre-teen days at the iconic Sonnet Club, expressed at the end of the third day’s play.
“Rishabh Pant is still the same before the accident and now”- Devendra Sharma
One of the vital aspects of the batting of Rishabh Pant in the second innings was how flawless he was with the strokes. The left-handed batter used his feet and collected the runs thanks to those innovative shots around the park, which he is renowned for. The century was needed to deliver the same confidence back in his game.
The Delhi batter celebrated his sixth century of the longest format, equaling with MS Dhoni, to now carry the most over boundaries in the red-ball format as an Indian designated wicket-keeper batter.
“After the accident and the kind of rehabilitation that he had to go through, this knock will be right up there. Test cricket isn’t easy on the body after what Rishabh has had to go through. But all of us have now seen that his mental toughness is in a different league.” Devender remarked during an interview with PTI.
He pointed out the training the Uttarakhand-born went through during the recovery sessions. He stayed mostly in Bengaluru and worked on his physical strength at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) before featuring in the Duleep Trophy.
“If he is determined about something, he will do it. He was hardly in Delhi, he mainly trained at the NCA and then played in the Duleep Trophy. I believe the NCA nets were for short duration but, it was quality training before he played Duleep and gave a glimpse of his long format fitness.” Rishabh Pant’s childhood coach highlighted.
The youngster put up a 167-run stand with Shubman Gill for the fourth wicket in the second innings, as the latter also notched up his century in the game. That was, quite surprisingly, the first instance of both of them batting together.
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Devender Sharma, who is a part of Delhi’s Women’s selection committee this year apart from being associated with the High-Performance Training of the State team last year, reckoned that the 26-year-old has retained the shape fitness which he had before the accident.
“The kind of physical work that Rishabh Pant has put in his phenomenal. If you go look at his physique before the accident, and now, he is still the same, a strong lad but just got leaner. He is looking fitter than ever.” The childhood coach concluded. “He is still the same aggressive player but if you look at his shot selection and the deliveries that he selected, you will know what I am saying.”