Rishabh Pant celebrates his milestone against Bangladesh Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A Rishabh Pant celebrates his milestone against Bangladesh Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A

Rishabh Pant scored a scintillating 109 on his return to Test cricket after a long hiatus in the first Test of the two-match series against Bangladesh at Chepauk in Chennai on Saturdaywinph, September 21. ( Day 3 Blog | Scorecard | Cricket News)

The century, his sixth, helped Pant equal former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's record of most Test hundreds by a designated wicketkeeper for India.

Having seamlessly stepped into legendary Dhoni's rather big shoes, Pant's career has been associated with celebrations. Known for his flamboyant style and fearless batting, the 26-year-old played a strokeful knock of 109 runs in just 128 balls, laced with 13 fours and four sixes.

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The left-handed batter from Haridwar in Uttarakhand who plays for Delhi in domestic cricket reached the three-figure mark in 124 balls, a double to long off off Shakib Al Hasan in the 55th over of India's second innings.

He got out in the next over, caught and bowled by Mehidy Hasan Miraz while charging for another lofted shot. He was involved in a 167-run partnership with Shubman Gill for the fourth wicket, a stand which effectively helped India declare their innings.

Pant made his Test debut in 2018 against England at Nottingham. In 56 innings (33 matches), he has scored 2271 runs with the highest score of 159.

Pant was making a return to international cricket following his successful recovery from a near-fatal accident in December 2022 which left him with a 90-degree burn and devastating injuries, including a twisted knee.

Here's a look at his top innings:Sl NoRunsBalls faced4s6sAgainstVenueYear1159*189151AustraliaSydney20192146111194EnglandBirmingham20223114146154EnglandLondon (The Oval)20184109128134BangladeshChennai20245101118132EnglandAhmedabad20216100*13964South AfricaCape Town2022797118123AustraliaSydney20218969794Sri LankaMohali202299310475BangladeshMirpur202210928484West IndiesRajkot20181192134112West IndiesHyderabad201812918895EnglandChennai20211389*13891AustraliaBrisbane20211458*7773EnglandChennai202115578680EnglandBirmingham2022165010640EnglandLondon (The Oval)202117503172Sri LankaBengaluru2022

The record for the highest score by an Indian wicket-keeper in Test cricket is held by MS Dhoni. He scored an unbeaten 182 in just 145 balls (15 fours and 10 sixes) against Sri Lanka at Jaipur in 2005.

Dhoni scored 4876 runs in 144 innings (90 matches) with the help of six centuries and 33 fifties for India.

Soon after Pant's dismissal, Gill also brought up his fourth century. It was followed by India's declaration at 287/4 (64 overs), thus setting Bangladesh a mammoth target of 515 with more than 40 overs remaining in the day's play.

The India vs Bangladesh two-match series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle. As things stand now, two-time finalists India lead the nine-team table with 68.52 PCT from nine matches; while Bangladesh are fourth with 45.83 PCT from their six outings.

Brief Scores:

India: 376 and 287/4 declared in 64 overs (Shubman Gill 119 not out, Rishabh Pant 109)

Bangladesh: 149 all out in 1st innings.winph

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