On Day 2 of the fourth Test in Manchester, Rishabh Pant stunned the cricketing world, playing one of the bravest knocks in Test history with a broken foot.
In the recently concluded five-match Test series against England, India's star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant stood tall as a beacon of resolve and fortitude, battling through injuries to deliver a string of gutsy, crowd-pleasing knocks that underlined his value to the side.
Pant finished the keenly contested series, which ended 2-2, as the sixth-highest run-getter, tallying 479 runs in four innings at an average of 68.42 and an impressive strike rate of 77.63. The flamboyant southpaw blasted two centuries and three fifties and his best score was 134.
Pant began the series with a bang, scoring a sublime 134 off 178 balls studded with 12 fours and six sixes in the first Test at Leeds.
Put in to bat, the newly appointed vice-captain stitched a vital 209-run stand for the fourth wicket with skipper Shubman Gill to take India to a decent total.
In the second innings too Pant tormented the English bowlers as he blasted 118 off 140 balls at a strike rate of 84. He smashed 15 boundaries and three towering sixes and built a 195-run stand with K L Rahul.
Although India lost the match by 5 wickets, Pant shattered multiple records with the twin centuries. He became the seventh Indian batter and the country's first wicket-keeper batter to hit centuries in both innings of a Test match after Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar (3 times), Rahul Dravid (2 times), Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Rohit Sharma.
The 27-year-old swashbuckler was only the second designated wicketkeeper-batter with twin centuries in a single Test after Zimbabwe's Andy Flower, who achieved the feat against South Africa in Harare in 2001 with scores of 142 and 199 not out.
Pant also joined Don Bradman, Hansie Cronje, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kumar Sangakkara, and Daryl Mitchell in a list of visiting batters with five consecutive 50-plus scores in England.
Besides, he completed 3,000 Test runs and surpassed former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to register the record for most Test tons (8) by an Indian wicketkeeper-batter.
In the second Test in Birmingham, Pant scored a 42-ball 25 in the first innings and a 58-ball 65 in the second essay as India registered a 336-run historic win.
During this match, he became the first Asian wicketkeeper-batter to complete 2,000 Test runs in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) nations.
During the third Test at Lord's, Pant sustained a freak finger injury while keeping and was replaced by Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps.
Displaying remarkable resilience, he scored 74 off 112 balls with eight fours and two sixes, and formed a crucial 141-run stand with Rahul when India were down to 107-3. Just before lunch, he ran himself out, trying to steal a quick single and his dismissal changed the complexion of the game as India, despite being in a commanding position, could only equal England's first innings total of 387.
Chasing 193 to win the Test, India fell short by 22 runs. Pant, who was undone by a ripper from Jofra Archer, could score only 9 off 12 balls.
During the game, Pant became the first visiting wicketkeeper to amass 400-plus runs in a single Test series in England and the Indian keeper-batter with most number of runs on an England tour.
The fourth Test in Manchester turned out to be Pant's final appearance in the series. During the first innings on Day 1, he sustained a nasty foot injury while attempting to reverse-sweep a Chris Woakes yorker.
Pant was batting on 37 off 48 balls when he was forced to leave the field. He received on-field medical attention but had to be stretchered off immediately.
The next day, he hobbled in to resume batting to stun the cricketing world before playing one of the bravest knocks in Test history.
He added 17 more runs to his tally to complete his third half-century. The massive six he hit off Jofra Archer over the mid-wicket boundary with minimal footwork testified to his exceptional skill-set and huge heart.
Pant's resolute knock of 54 off 75 balls, which contained three fours and two sixes, finally ended as Archer had his revenge with a nip-backer that breached his defence.
During this match, he completed 1,000 Test runs in England and equalled Virender Sehwag for maximum number of sixes (90) for India in Test cricket.
Pant also leapfrogged Rohit Sharma to become India's leading run-getter in WTC history.
He ended the English summer with 2,731 runs in ICC WTC history, above Rohit (2,716 runs) at an average of 43.34 and a strike rate of 74.25, with six centuries and 16 fifties.
So far, Pant has tallied 3,427 runs in 47 Tests at an average of 44.50. He boasts a strike rate of 74.16 and has eight centuries and 18 fifties under his belt.
In 30 SENA Tests, he has aggregated 2,160 runs at an average of 41.53, with six centuries and eight fifties.
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