Rishabh Pant, India's star wicketkeeper-batter, etched his name in T20 World Cup history during India's clash against Afghanistan on Thursday. Pant took three crucial catches to dismiss Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Gulbadin Naib, and Naveen ul Haq in the game, thus bringing his total dismissals for the tournament to ten.
This milestone made Pant the record holder for most dismissals in a single edition of the T20 World Cup, surpassing renowned players like AB de Villiers, Adam Gilchrist, and Kumar Sangakkara, each with nine dismissals to their name.
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This is Pant's second T20 World Cup as a regular for Team India. He played in all of India's matches in the 2021 edition, but the side was knocked out in the group stages. In 2022, Dinesh Karthik took over the role of the first-choice wicketkeeper for most of the tournament.
Beyond his proficiency with the gloves, Pant has also been a standout performer with the bat in the ongoing tournament. He leads India's batting charts with 116 runs from four innings, boasting an impressive average of 38.66 and a strike rate of 131.81.
{{/usCountry}}Beyond his proficiency with the gloves, Pant has also been a standout performer with the bat in the ongoing tournament. He leads India's batting charts with 116 runs from four innings, boasting an impressive average of 38.66 and a strike rate of 131.81.
{{/usCountry}}His contributions include an unbeaten 36 off 26 balls against Ireland in the opener and a quickfire 42 off 21 deliveries against Pakistan. Interestingly, this tournament marked Pant's comeback to the Indian team after over 1.5 years, following a near-fatal car accident in December 2022. The wicketkeeper-batter made a return to competitive cricket in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League, where he led the Delhi Capitals.
India's strong start in Super Eight
In their Super Eight encounter against Afghanistan at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, India made a commanding start by posting a formidable total of 181/8 after choosing to bat first. Suryakumar Yadav shined for the side with a brilliant 53, while Hardik Pandya also scored an important 32. Rohit Sharma's men eventually registered a comprehensive 47-run victory over Afghanistan, with Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh shining with three wickets each.
India will now return to action on Saturday when the side faces Bangladesh in an important Group 1 fixture in St. Lucia.