Picture Credit: Twitter
Rishabh Pant played an innings of his life on Day 1 of the Edgbaston Test as he lifted India from 98/5 to 320/6 in the first innings. Everyone was in awe of Pant’s counterattacking innings and lauded the young batter for his aggressive approach. The impact of Pant’s innings was such that even opposition coach Paul Collingwood was all praise for the batter.
However, the England and Wales Cricket Board’s social media team seemed off-road when it came to complementing the Indian batter for his heroics. ECB’s YouTube channel put a headline “Joe Root dismisses Dominant Pant” while sharing the highlights of Day 1’s play. This headline did not sit well with India’s wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik who bashed the English board for not giving enough credit to Pant.
“After such an engrossing, enthralling days play, I'm sure the headline can be much better and apt than this @ECB_cricket. That knock by @RishabhPant17 land the quality of test cricket played by both sides were as good as it can be and this is how you sum up a day,” wrote Karthik on Twitter criticizing ECB.
Pant scripts history
The Pant’s inning was one of the best Test knocks played by an Indian in an overseas Test. The 24-year-old wicketkeeper batter known for his swashbuckling approach crossed the three-figures-mark in just 89 balls making history. Pant scored the fastest hundred by an Indian wicketkeeper. He surpassed MS Dhoni who earlier held the record of getting a Test hundred in 93 balls.
Pant also completed 2000 runs in Test cricket and became only the third wicketkeeper to complete 2000 runs and 100 dismissals in the longest format of the game. The 24-year-old now also holds the record for the third-fastest century in an overseas Test. On the back of Pant's innings and his 222-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja, India ended Day 1's play on the front foot and with a score of 323/7.