Rishabh Pant Achieves Milestone Despite Injury in Manchester Test
Rishabh Pant's Remarkable Achievement
On July 23, in Manchester, India's wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant reached a significant milestone by becoming the sixth Indian player to surpass 1,000 runs in Test matches played in England. Unfortunately, his achievement was overshadowed by an injury he sustained during the match.
While batting confidently at 37 runs in the fourth Test, Pant was struck on the right foot by a fast delivery from Chris Woakes. The impact appeared severe, resulting in noticeable swelling and bleeding, making it difficult for him to continue.
The team's physiotherapist quickly attended to him, but it was evident that Pant could not proceed. He was transported off the field using a motorized vehicle due to the pain he was experiencing, with Ravindra Jadeja stepping in as his replacement.
With this performance, Pant has now accumulated 1,018 runs in English conditions, joining the ranks of cricket legends such as Sachin Tendulkar (1,575 runs), Rahul Dravid (1,376 runs), Sunil Gavaskar (1,152 runs), Virat Kohli (1,096 runs), and KL Rahul (1,035 runs, achieved earlier in the same match).
Currently, India is trailing 2-1 in the five-match series, and with England performing strongly at home, the Indian team faces additional challenges with Pant's injury. They will need to rally together to keep their hopes alive in the series.
Pant has had an outstanding series thus far, ranking as the second-highest run-scorer with 462 runs across seven innings, averaging 77.00, including two centuries and two fifties, with his highest score being 134. Notably, he became the first Indian wicketkeeper to score two centuries in a single Test match during the first Test at Leeds.
Throughout this series, Pant has set multiple records, surpassing MS Dhoni for the most Test centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper and becoming Asia's leading wicketkeeper-batter in matches played in South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia (SENA). He has also outperformed Dhoni in terms of runs scored by an Indian wicketkeeper in England.
In the 1963/64 home series against India, Budhisagar Kunderan scored 525 runs in five matches, averaging 52.50, with two centuries and a half-century, achieving a top score of 192.
Historically, only three wicketkeeper-batters have scored over 500 runs in a bilateral Test series: DT Lindsay of South Africa, Andy Flower of Zimbabwe, and Kunderan. With a strong performance in Manchester, Pant could join this elite group.