IND vs SA: Rishabh Pant registers highest ODI score, goes past MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid to script massive Indian record

While Rishabh Pant missed out on a chance to score his maiden ODI century, the 23-year-old wicketkeeper batter did manage to achieve a big batting feat for India in ODIs.

Rishabh Pant registered his highest individual ODI score, making 85 runs off 71 balls to help India recover against South Africa in the second match of the series at Paarl on Friday. Pant hit 10 fours and two sixes as he and KL Rahul added 115 runs for the fourth wicket. The century partnership between the captain and wicketkeeper allowed India to stage a comeback in the match after Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli had fallen in quick succession.

Rishabh Pant after scoring his 4th ODI fifty. 

With this, Pant surpassed the legendary Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni to register the highest individual ODI score by an Indian wicketkeeper batter in South Africa in ODIs. Prior to this, Dravid's knock of 77 not in Durban back in 2001 and MS Dhoni’s 65 in Johannesburg of in 2013 were the top two innings, but Pant’s 85 has pushed the former India captains a rung below in the list.

While Pant missed out on the opportunity to become the first India wicketkeeper batter to score an ODI century against South Africa, he would be happy with this effort as it allowed India to put up a competitive total on the board. In the process, Pant also became the sixth wicketkeeper-batter to score a century in ODIs in South Africa and second Asian after former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara.

Pant walked out and made his intentions clear straightaway. Out stumped for 16 in the last match, Pant did not take time to get going. He ensured that India collected at least one boundary almost every over. His first two boundaries arrived in the 19th and 20th over. In the 24th over bowled by Tabraiz Shamsi, Pant took the chinaman bowler for three fours and one more each off the bowler’s next two.

In between, Keshav Maharaj was slog swept for six as the ball thudded onto the electronic display board, while Shamsi was tonked for a one-handed six down to long-on. Once Rahul chipped Sisanda Magala to mid-wicket for a soft dismissal, the onus was on Pant to play through the innings, but after a couple of tight overs bowled by Shamsi, the wicketkeeper batter, trying to break the shackles, holed out to long-on.