Pant becomes second fastest Indian to reach 50 sixes

Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant became the second fastest Indian batter to reach 50 sixes landmark in Test cricket, on Day One of the first Test between India and Bangladesh at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium here on Wednesday. Pant secured this achievement when he made a counter-attacking 46 runs off 45 balls, laced with six fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 102.22, to keep the scoreboard moving after India lost K.L. Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli. He reached the landmark when he slog-swept a juicy full toss from Mehidy Hasan Miraz over deep mid-wicket for six in the 32nd over, during the second session of day one. He achieved the feat in just 54 innings, three more than regular skipper Rohit Sharma who got it in 51 innings. Overall, Pant stands third in the all-time list of fastest batters to reach 50 Test sixes, with Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi topping the list with 46 innings. Pant also became the eighth Indian batter to smash 50 sixes in Test cricket, joining a club featuring Rohit, Virender Sehwag, M.S. Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly and Ravindra Jadeja. During the course of the innings, Pant (25) completed 4000 runs in international cricket. But soon after he hit Hasan for a six to reach a half-century of maximums in Tests, Pant was sent back in the hut after chopping onto his stumps off the off-spinner.