India's Rishabh Pant produced a scintillating performance with the bat on Day 1 of the rescheduled fifth and final Test of the series against England. The wicketkeeper-batter brought up his fifth century in the longest format of the game, toppling former captain MS Dhoni's record for fastest ton by a wicketkeeper-batter for India. While Dhoni achieved the feat with a 93-ball century in 2005, Pant reached the three-figure mark in four balls less.
En route to his impressive ton in Edgbaston, Pant also reached another key milestone. The left-hander became the youngest Indian to smash 100 sixes in international cricket. He smashed his 100th maximum against spinner Jack Leach during the innings on Friday.
Also read: Rishabh Pant shatters MS Dhoni’s 17-year long record with 89-ball century in India vs England Test
India great Sachin Tendulkar held the record for being the youngest Indian to reach the feat. While Tendulkar smashed 100 international sixes at the age of 25, Pant achieved the milestone at 24 years, 271 days. Former India and Chennai Super Kings star Suresh Raina holds the third spot, reaching the three-figure mark in 25 years and 7 days.
Earlier, India were invited to bat after Ben Stokes won the toss, as Jasprit Bumrah leads the side for the first time. First-team captain Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the rescheduled Test after testing positive for Covid-19 last week, as he failed to recover in time for the start of the game. In the absence of Rohit, Cheteshwar Pujara opened with Shubman Gill; however, the opening pair failed to make a mark in the first innings of the Test.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, India were invited to bat after Ben Stokes won the toss, as Jasprit Bumrah leads the side for the first time. First-team captain Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the rescheduled Test after testing positive for Covid-19 last week, as he failed to recover in time for the start of the game. In the absence of Rohit, Cheteshwar Pujara opened with Shubman Gill; however, the opening pair failed to make a mark in the first innings of the Test.
{{/usCountry}}While Gill was dismissed on 17, Pujara could only score 13 before both were sent packing by veteran bowler James Anderson. Hanuma Vihari (20), Virat Kohli (11), and Shreyas Iyer (15) were all dismissed cheaply before Rishabh Pant (146) and Ravindra Jadeja (83*) stabilised the Indian innings.
At stumps on Day 1, India had reached 338/7.