‘Test match ODI ki tarah khelta hai’: Rishabh Pant’s brisk 46-run knock in 1st Test vs Bangladesh impresses netizens

Ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh, skipper KL Rahul in his pre-match press conference said that the Indian team will try to play aggressive cricket. Having won the toss and choosing to bat first, the Men in Blue kept losing wickets at regular intervals until Rishabh Pant arrived in the middle to change the course of the match. 

The southpaw smashed his first three boundaries against Taijul Islam, who had gotten the crucial wickets of Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli, but Pant was having none of it. 

He eventually got dismissed for 46 runs, just shy of completing a well-deserved fifty, but the youngster had already smashed six boundaries and two sixes, all of it in just 45 balls. 

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Rishabh Pant was the only Indian batsman who scored with a strike rate of over 100 on Day 1, and while in the end, he gifted his wicket away to Mehidy Hasan with a reckless shot, the Roorkee-born wicketkeeper-batsman left plenty of fans impressed with his attacking approach. 

Check how fans reacted to Rishabh Pant’s 46-run knock:

#RishabhPant

Test match mai one day ki tarah khelta h pant pic.twitter.com/iJvgJiwneO
— Ankit Shukla (@AnkitShukla2022) December 14, 2022

Then came the master innings from Rishabh Pant. A true Bazball approach from arguably India’s best test batsman currently. He made a quick fire 46 showing aggression while Pujara was playing slowly.

The fantastic knock ended by getting bowled by Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

(6/9) pic.twitter.com/1MkTX1j51u

— Wo Cricket Gyani (@WoCricketGyani) December 14, 2022

#RishabhPant Score 46 in just 45 balls which I enjoyed a lot today hope he scored century  next innings..!!#INDvsBangladesh #BANvsIND
— Shiv (@shivayyee) December 14, 2022

A needed and supportive knock of 46 runs in 45 balls by @RishabhPant17 and avery important knock of 90 in 203 balls by @cheteshwar1 on Day 1 kept India going….@ShreyasIyer15 still in the game!! #FirstTest #INDvsBAN #Chattogram #TeamIndia #Cricket
— Arunjit Ghosh (@ArunjitGhosh) December 14, 2022

*Rishabh Pant in Tests*#BANvsIND #BCCI #CricketTwitter #TeamIndia

#RishabhPant pic.twitter.com/fEzG2UdXhU
— Nivid (@nivid_24) December 14, 2022

Rishabh Pant played another game-changing knock today. Don’t forget it. He made Bangladesh take Taijul off after a great spell post lunch, at the heels of which Pujara, too, began to get a few balls to cut because of him at the other end. Played, man.
— KASHISH (@crickashish217) December 14, 2022

READ| IND vs BAN 1st Test: Rishabh Pant crosses 4000-run mark in International cricket

En route to his 46-run inning, Pant crossed the 4000-run mark in international cricket, and the youngster also became only the second wicketkeeper-batsman after MS Dhoni to smash 50 sixes in record time in the purest format. 

Team India ended Day 1 with 278/6 on the board, courtesy of Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 82-run knock, and Cheteshwar Pujara’s 90-run inning.