Rishabh Pant Aims for Historic Century at Edgbaston in Second Test Against England
Rishabh Pant's Quest for Greatness
Edgbaston [UK], June 27: Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is on the verge of joining an elite group of cricket legends, including Don Bradman, Rahul Dravid, and Brian Lara, with the potential to score another century at Edgbaston during the upcoming second Test against England.
Pant has been in exceptional form, showcasing his aggressive batting style with scores of 134 and 118 in the first Test at Leeds. Unfortunately, despite his efforts, India could not defend a target of 371 runs and lost the match by five wickets.
The dynamic left-handed batsman boasts an impressive record in England, amassing 808 runs in 10 Tests over 19 innings, averaging 42.52, which includes four centuries and two fifties, with his highest score being 146.
During his last appearance at Edgbaston in July 2022, Pant delivered a remarkable performance, scoring 146 runs off just 111 balls, featuring 19 fours and four sixes. His partnership with Ravindra Jadeja helped India recover from a precarious position of 98/5 to post a total of 416 runs. However, India ultimately lost the match as England successfully chased down the target of 378.
If Pant manages to score another century at Edgbaston, he will become the seventh visiting batsman to achieve centuries in three consecutive Tests in England, joining the ranks of legends like Bradman, Warren Bardsley, Dravid, Lara, Charles George Macartney, and Daryl Mitchell.
He would also be the second Indian, after Dravid, to accomplish this feat in 23 years, having previously scored 115 at Nottingham, followed by 148 at Leeds and 217 at The Oval.
The most recent player to achieve this milestone was New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell, who scored 108 at Lord's, 190 at Nottingham, and 109 at Leeds.
Having surpassed MS Dhoni for the most centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper-batter and for runs by an Asian wicketkeeper-batter in SENA conditions, Pant has made history with his twin centuries at Leeds. The cricketing world is eager to see if he can continue this remarkable streak in the ongoing series.
The second Test is set to commence on July 2.
India's Test squad for the England series includes: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav.
England's Test squad for the second Test features: Ben Stokes (capt), Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, and Chris Woakes.