Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant batted tremendously on the second day of the fifth Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) to get the team out of a difficult situation. Pant played an aggressive knock of 61 runs off just 33 balls, which not only surprised the Australian bowlers but also thrilled cricket fans. His innings also forced the great batsman Sachin Tendulkar to praise him.
Rishabh Pant's blast in Sydney Test
Despite a brilliant start from Yashasvi Jaiswal, Scott Boland's bowling pushed the Indian team on the backfoot. Boland dismissed both the openers and then sent Virat Kohli to the pavilion as well. In such a situation, Rishabh Pant stepped on the field and hit Boland for a six on the first ball as soon as he came.
Pant put pressure on the Australian bowlers with his blistering batting. He completed his half-century in just 29 balls, hitting two consecutive sixes against Mitchell Starc. He missed out on breaking his own record, which he made in 28 balls against Sri Lanka in 2022.
Sachin Tendulkar salutes Rishabh Pant
Sachin Tendulkar, while praising this brilliant innings of Rishabh Pant, wrote on the social media platform 'X', "On a pitch where most batsmen are playing at a strike rate of less than 50, Rishabh Pant's strike rate of 184 is amazing. He shook the Australian bowlers from the very first ball. It's always exciting to watch him bat. What an innings!"
Pant's name in the record books
Pant's innings gave him another place in the record books. He scored the second-fastest half-century by Indian batsmen in Test cricket. This half-century also became the fastest half-century of any foreign batsman in Australia, previously named after England's John Brown (1895) and Roy Fredericks (1975).
Fastest Test half-century by Indian batsmen
1. Rishabh Pant – 28 balls vs Sri Lanka, 2022
2. Rishabh Pant – 29 balls vs Australia, 2025
3. Kapil Dev – 30 balls vs Pakistan, 1982
4. Shardul Thakur – 31 balls vs England, 2021
5. Yashasvi Jaiswal – 31 balls vs Bangladesh, 2024
Rishabh Pant's innings took the Indian team to a score of 141/6, giving them a crucial lead of 145 runs over Australia. His aggressive batting once again proved that he is a game changer in Test cricket as well.