Welcome back, Rishabh! Test cricket missed you

They say you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. India experienced the realness of this quote first-hand when they lost Rishabh Pant from Test cricket for no less than 20 months on the back of the horrific car accident he suffered towards the end of December 2022. 

During the time without Pant, India tried as many as four individuals behind the wickets to fill the void left by the left-hander. But none of them were ‘him’. Not certainly with bat in hand, at least. 

Together, the four ‘replacements’ combined to bat in 22 innings and averaged just 33.44. They crossed the 50-run mark just thrice, and only one century was scored from their willow in 22 attempts. It was grim. 

Extra grim because of what the side had at its disposal before Pant's unfortunate accident: a wicketkeeper who was not just a ‘wicketkeeper’ but among the best batters in the world. Arguably the best batter in the side.

It’s fair to say now that India can afford to convince themselves that the 20 months without Pant was just a bad dream that never happened in the first place.

Because the man who is a literal cheat code in Tests is back, and how!

If you had, by chance, forgotten just how good Pant was in Test cricket before the horrific car crash, well, he gave a perfect reminder across the 180 balls he batted in this Test.

We’ll get to the smashing ton he scored in the second innings, but it’s worth talking about the very underrated hand he played in the first innings — his first in red-ball cricket in 636 days.

On the back of Virat Kohli nicking off for 6 (6), India were in quite a spot of bother at 34/3 after being sent into bat. The ball was doing all sorts on an overcast morning in Chennai, and both Hasan Mahmud and Taskin Ahmed were making the batters dance to their tunes. 

Across the first nine overs, the Bangladesh seamers had induced 18.3% false shots and were in firm control of the contest.

Enter Rishabh Pant. 

Pant did not change the course of the game in the span of deliveries like he’s done many a time in the past, but the solidity and defiance he brought to the table slowly started to sap the venom out of the Bangladesh seamers. 

The left-hander gradually started to get into his element, and by lunch, at 88/3, India had started to wrestle the momentum back. 

Eventually, Pant perished in just the third over after lunch — to a very, very loose shot — but the 39 (52) showcased his class and reasserted why he is among the best batters in the side. 

If the first innings gave a glimpse of Pant’s greatness, the second innings was a full blown reminder of why the 26-year-old is up there as one of the greatest talents this country has ever produced. 

Pant, the Test batter, is synonymous with fireworks, but here’s the thing: he has it in him to be very boring, too. 

Remember the Gabba knock? There, Pant was very boring for a long while. He brought up his fifty off 100 balls. 76 off the first 100 balls he faced were dots. SEVENTY SIX.

Here at Chepauk, in the second innings, he ground down the Bangladesh bowlers by boring them to death for a good chunk of time. Across his first 65 balls, the left-hander added just 30 runs. More than 75% of his first 65 deliveries were dots. 

Pant got to his half-century in 88 balls, making it his third-slowest fifty in Tests. And across these 88 balls, the only memorable highlight was a one-handed six he hit off Mehidy Hasan on the first ball off the 40th over. That was trademark Pant, alright.

But what makes Pant such a ridiculously good batter in Tests is his stupendous versatility.

He can be a dot machine one moment — all solid, putting you to sleep — and then instantly turn into a boundary machine the next, in the flick of a switch. He’ll go from being Mr Safety to throwing caution to the wind as nothing matters in life. 

And after getting to his fifty, we witnessed this extravagant side of Pant. For while his first fifty came off 88 balls, his second came off just 36. 

Part two of his knock in the second innings showcased the eccentric side of Pant, the Test batter: the restlessness, the countless boundaries and the non-stop entertainment, keeping every single viewer on the edge of their seat. 

And he thrilled in trademark fashion to bring up his sixth Test hundred and join MS Dhoni at the top of the pile in terms of hundreds for Indian wicketkeepers in Tests.

Pant departed soon after his hundred, but by then, he’d already shown the entire world why he is a literal cheat code in Test cricket. Even more so in home conditions.

Pant has now batted 13 times in India and has scored 787 runs at a ridiculous average of 65.58. No wicketkeeper in history who has scored 750+ runs in home conditions has been more prolific in their own backyard. 

Everyone is understandably looking forward to Pant in Australia again, but he still has four more home Tests to play across the next month. At this rate, it truly won’t be a surprise if he enters Australia with 10 Test tons under his belt. 

Welcome back, Rishabh. Test cricket missed you!  

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