NEWS
Follow UsRishabh Pant went all guns blazing at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and slammed the second-fastest Test fifty by an Indian batter. He achieved this feat in the fifth Test against Australia at SCG. He got to the landmark off just 29 deliveries, just behind his own record of a 28-ball half-century against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru in 2022.
Fastest fifty for India in Tests:
28 balls - Rishabh Pant vs SL, Bengaluru, 2022
29 balls - Rishabh Pant vs AUS, Sydney, 2025
30 balls - Kapil Dev vs PAK, Karachi, 1982
31 balls - Shardul Thakur vs ENG, The Oval, 2021
31 balls - Yashasvi Jaiswal vs BAN, Kanpur, 2024
In doing so, the wicketkeeper-batter became also the first and only player in the world to score two fifties in under 30 deliveries. This was his first fifty of the series and the second-fastest innings by anyone on Australian soil.
Highest strike rate in an innings in Australia (min 50 runs):
203.70 - David Warner vs Pakistan in Sydney, 2017
184.84 - Rishabh Pant vs Australia in Sydney, 2025
172.88 - Adam Gilchrist vs England in Perth, 2006
Pant came to the crease following Virat Kohli's dismissal with the score reading 59/3. The lead was just 63. He started off his innings with six off his first delivery, dispatching Scott Boland over the long-on fence.
He then took a liking towards Beau Webster, hitting him for five fours and a six in a span of 11 deliveries to get going. He finally got to his fifty, pulling Mitchell Starc over the fence.
Pant has played the sort of free-flowing innings that has made him so popular and effective. However, he had to face plenty of criticism for playing rash strokes, which brought about his downfall earlier in the series. He eventually was dismissed caught behind for 61 off 33, flashing at a wide delivery from Pat Cummins.
Earlier on day two, India took a slender four-run lead after bowling Australia out for 181. Pant's innings has certainly given India a great chance of levelling the series.
