Rishabh Pant hits India’s fastest half-century against New Zealand in Tests at Wankhede

In the last moments of the first day of the third Test between New Zealand and India, India lost three wickets in nine deliveries during a nerve-wracking stretch of play. Rishabh Pant was lucky to only have to handle the last ball before Stumps. Rishabh Pant succeeded in pushing the ball off-side for a single.

What was encouraging to witness was the dedication with which he approached India’s innings on the second day. It was evident that the main philosophy was to be alert for runs, as he was creamed away for boundaries in three of the first four deliveries he faced. After a magnificent reverse sweep that he almost middled, Pant charged viciously to utterly disrupt Ajaz Patel’s flow, causing a maximum that thudded into the sight screen. This allowed Pant to speed on to 40.

After a few overs, Rishabh Pant reached his half-century with just 36 deliveries.

Oddly enough, it was the quickest an Indian hitter had ever run in Test matches against the Kiwis. In the last Test in Pune, Yashasvi Jaiswal reached the milestone in 41 deliveries, which was the previous fastest. Prior to Jaiswal, Harbhajan Singh in Hyderabad (2010) and Sarfaraz Khan in Bengaluru (2024) were the only two players to reach the milestone in 42 balls.

Conway and Rachin leave in short succession, leaving the match on a precarious note.

With Shubman Gill scoring 90 runs to propel India to 263, which appears to be a competitive total on a challenging surface, the match is still in the balance. Another significant factor in the total was Washington Sundar’s late surge.

New Zealand’s second innings began with Akash Deep dismissing captain Tom Latham in the opening over. Will Young and Devon Conway were able to defuse the situation for a long time.

Also Read: WATCH: Akash Deep’s inswinger shatters Tom Latham’s stumps, pacer gives aggressive send-off in Mumbai

However, Conway and Rachin Ravindra were quickly eliminated thanks to a masterfully executed delivery by Sundar and a mouthwatering carrot that Ravichandran Ashwin dangled.