Rishabh Pant becomes first Asian wicketkeeper-batter to score Test, ODI centuries in England

Manchester [UK], July 18 (ANI): Following his match-winning knock against England in the final ODI, India’s Rishabh Pant has become the first Asian wicketkeeper-batter to register a century in both Tests and ODI on English soil.
Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 125* and his 133-run partnership with Hardik Pandya helped India chase down 260 in the final ODI of the three-match series at Manchester and win the series 2-1.
England was bundled out for 259 thanks to brilliant spells from Hardik Pandya (4/24) and Yuzvendra Chahal (3/60). Jos Buttler (60), Jason Roy (41) and Moeen Ali (34) played some crucial knocks for the hosts.
Chasing 260, Reece Topley destroyed India’s top order and had them at 72/4, but then Pandya-Pant stitched a match-winning stand of 133 runs.
With this, Pant has joined the league of wicketkeeper-batters like Rahul Dravid and KL Rahul who have scored a century outside Asia in the ODI format.
Chasing 260, team India had a bad start with the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan being sent back to the pavilion cheaply.
Shikhar Dhawan fell prey to Reece Topley in the 2.1 over of the innings. Topley gave another blow to India as he dismissed captain Rohit who scored 17 runs in 17 deliveries.
At that point, Reece Topley was on fire and he dismissed Virat Kohli on 17 runs, leaving India struggling at 38/3. In the 10 over of the innings, India’s main three batters were in the hut.
After the 10 overs, England had full command of the match. Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant tried to anchor the inning and keep the momentum going for the visitors, taking their team’s score beyond the 50-run mark in the 12th over of the innings.
The duo played some aggressive shots but Craig Overton gave Men in Blue a big blow as he dismissed Suryakumar who had scored 16 runs in 28 deliveries.
Suryakumar’s wicket brought Hardik Pandya to the crease. After 20 overs Pandya and Pant took their side’s score beyond the 100-run mark under 21 overs with four wickets down.
The duo shifted their gears and started playing an attacking game. All-rounder Pandya brought up his half-century in 43 balls in the 30th over of the match.
Pant also smashed a brilliant fifty in the 71 balls. The pair brought up their 110 runs partnership stand in 106 balls.
After 34 over the equation went down to 77 runs in 96 balls to win. The duo continued their red-hot form and stunning partnership as they smashed Overton for 14 runs.
In the 36th over of the innings, Pandya smashed two back-to-back fours of Brydon Carse, before he was dismissed.
Pandya’s wicket also broke his 133 runs partnership in 115 balls with Pant. Star all-rounder of the team Ravindra Jadeja then came to bat.
Jadeja formed a great partnership with Pant to ease some pressure off the team. Pant brought up his century in 106 balls.
Pant hammered David Willey for 21 runs in the 42nd over with just 3 runs remaining to win the game in 48 balls.
Pant smashed four on the very first delivery of Joe Root’s over to guide his team to a 5 wicket win and ODI series victory against England.
Earlier, Put to bat first by India, England was off to a horrific start. Pacer Mohammed Siraj sent both Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root back to the pavilion fin the second over within a span of four balls. England was two down at 12 runs. Shreyas Iyer caught Bairstow at mid-off while skipper Rohit Sharma caught Root at slips.
This brought Ben Stokes to the crease. Roy and Stokes started scoring some runs for England with some delightful boundaries. The duo crossed the 50-run partnership mark in the ninth over of the match.
Shortly, Roy was dismissed by Hardik Pandya for 41 off 31 balls after the ball hit the top edge of his bat and landed in hands of wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. England was 66/3 at this stage. At the end of 1st powerplay in ten overs, England was at 66/3, with Jos Buttler (0*) and Stokes (24*).
India did some tight bowling for the next few overs, creating pressure on England without conceding heavy runs. Ben Stokes was the next wicket in the 14th over as he was caught and bowled by Pandya for 27 off 29 balls.
All-rounder Moeen Ali was next up. England was 74/4 and needed a partnership. The duo of Buttler and Ali did just that. At the end of 20 overs, England was at 91/4, with Buttler (14*) and Moeen Ali (5*).
The duo started hitting some big shots after crossing 20 overs, with Moeen Ali being the more aggressive of the two. Buttler-Ali brought up their 50-run stand in the 23rd over. Ravindra Jadeja trapped Ali for 34 off 44 balls in the 28th over after the extra bounce climbed off the face of Ali’s bat and went straight into Pant’s gloves. The 75-run stand between the duo was done and dusted.
Liam Livingstone was the next man in. Buttler and Livingstone picked up from where Ali had left and formed another valuable partnership. Buttler reached his half-century, his 21st in ODIs. Livingstone also struck four boundaries.
Livingstone was dismissed by Pandya for 27 off 29 after he was caught by Jadeja at deep backward square leg. Buttler was the next one to go just three balls later, dismissed for 60 off 80 balls. England were 7 down at 199.
The next pair David Willey and Craig Overton kept the scoreboard ticking for England. Willey-Overton put on 48-runs before Willey fell to Chahal for 18 off 15 after Suryakumar Yadav caught him at the long-off.
Chahal took two more in the match, dismissing Overton for 32 and Reece Topley for a duck. England was bundled out for 259.
Pandya finished as the pick of the bowlers for India, taking 4/24. Chahal also took 3/60. Siraj got two wickets while Jadeja got one.
Brief Scores: England: 259 in 45.5 overs (Jos Buttler 60, Jason Roy 41, Hardik Pandya 4/24) vs India 261/5 in 42.1 (Rishabh Pant 125*, Hardik Pandya 71; Reece Topley 3/35). (ANI)