Pant's transformation began after a forgettable Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year.
Ravindra Jadeja continues to reign supreme at the top of the ICC Men's Test Player Rankings for all-rounders, but his lead has narrowed following a stellar performance from Bangladesh's Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Australia is on the cusp of scripting another milestone. If the Baggy Greens trounce the Proteas, they will become the first team to defend the WTC mace successfully.
The marquee contest will witness an engrossing tussle for supremacy between two battle-hardened all-rounders: Jadeja, India's man for all seasons, and England's superstar Ben Stokes, who has been the face of a defining era for the Three Lions.
Pant plays the numbers game beautifully, has his own computer: Shastri
Pant is unique in many ways, let him be that only: ex-players after his somersault goes viral
Doshi represented India in 33 Test matches and 15 One Day Internationals from 1979 to 1983.
'If you end up finding yourself in the position where you happen to be in that World Test Championship final, then it is great, but it is a real weird one knowing that you are playing for something over a long period of time.'
Konstas heads home but not out of Test team's plans
There was plenty of action over the last 12 months that kept the loyal Indian fan interested.
Pat Cummins is the eighth Australian to join the 300 club, no mean feat for any bowler but particularly one who he had to wait more than five years for his second Test appearance after a spate of injuries.
Pat Cummins said that the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) pitch looks "nice and firm" with a "bit of grass coverage"
Between 2014 and 2019, he scored 21 centuries in just 55 Tests. Among these were seven double centuries, the most by an Indian in Test cricket. Remarkably, six of those double tons came within a span of just 22 Tests.
The BCCI isn't involved in this Test match. It was the Afghanistan Cricket Board's choice and the Greater Noida Authority was supposed to provide them with international standard facilities.
South Africa go into the five-day clash at Lord's, which starts on Wednesday, as underdogs but Conrad struck an optimistic tone at a press conference on Monday.
Shaheen Afridi also missed the last two Tests against England in October.
Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah returned to India's T20 squad for next month's Asia Cup, but IPL star performers Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal missed out.
Boundary catches involving 'bunny hops', or multiple airborne touches outside the rope, have been deemed illegal by the Marylebone Cricket Club, with the new ruling set to be integrated into ICC's playing conditions this month and the MCC's laws from October next year.
Pakistan selectors rule out T20 role for Babar, Rizwan and Afridi in near future
Indian players mourn Ahmedabad airplane crash victims before intra-squad match
Mehidy Hasan Miraz named new Bangladesh ODI skipper
Pat Cummins tore through South Africa before a Proteas fightback left the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025 on a knife-edge at the end of an absorbing second day at Lord's.
India's spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin continued to sit at the top two positions in the ICC Test bowlers' rankings, released on Monday.
Rajeev Shukla hailed the star batter for his contribution in the longest format.
With South Africa's seam attack featuring Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Marco Jansen and Australia having Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and the ever-dependable Josh Hazlewood in their lineup, the battle between the two sides' fast bowlers is likely to be critical in determining the outcome of the World Test Championship final, as per ICC website.
Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar on Thursday said he reached out to the family of late Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi as soon as he got to know that the India-England Test series trophy was being renamed and tried to ensure that the former captain's association with the marquee event remained intact.
India managed to keep the five-Test series level at 1-1 heading into the Boxing day Test in Melbourne, the fragility of their top order remains a major concern for the tourists.
Rashid Khan opens up on rehab mistakes, how a break helped him rediscover his best following back surgery.
A B de Villiers described South Africa's squad as a well-balanced unit and backed them to pull off an upset against defending champions Australia.
'But I think if you look at a rebuilding sort of phase, I think India can cope with it better than most other teams'
'I think any captain who wants to lead from the front, they want to lead through performance as well, and that's what Temba's done exceptionally well.'
The relations between India and Pakistan could be a potential spoiler if both the teams enter the final, but that is a situation which will be dealt with at that point of time.
Jay Shah will take over as the next chairman of the ICC in December after he emerged as the sole nominee for the high-profile job
Here is a look back at India's hard-fought 1-0 series win in England, 54 years back.
This is Ravichandran Ashwin's sixth stint at the top of the rankings. He first became number one in December 2015.
Usman Khawaja said it was "really frustrating" for players to lose their match fees despite delivering entertaining matches.
It is now-or-never for the now senior-most superstar batter to produce an all-timer series that justifies his talent.
Dilip Doshi, who passed away on June 23, was celebrated not only as one of India's finest left-arm spinners but also as a cricketer of rare character and amazing qualities, recalls veteran cricket correspondent K R Nayar.
"Shreyas Iyer is now absolute certainty in white-ball format": Ravi Shastri hails Indian cricketer's batting technique
The third Test between Australia and India in Brisbane faces a grim weather forecast, with rain predicted to impact the remaining four days.
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