ENG vs IND 2018: Rishabh Pant Creates History On Test Debut At Trent Bridge

Rishabh Pant, on Saturday, became the first Indian batsman to open his Test cricket account with a six after he got off the mark with a maximum on day one of the third England vs India Test at Trent Bridge.

Pant came into the side at out-of-form Dinesh Karthik’s place and made his mark straightaway. The highly-rated youngster  smashed leg-spinner Adil Rashid for a straight six on only his second ball of the innings to start his Test career.

Overall, he became the twelfth batsman to achieve this incredible feat. The other players are Eric Freeman, Carlisle Best, Keith Dabengwa, Dale Richards, Shafiul Islam, Jahurul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Mark Craig, Dhananjaya De Silva, Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Sunil Ambris.

Pant became the 291st Test player for India after captain Virat Kohli handed him his debut cap before the start of the match.

The Delhi wicketkeeper-batsman came to the crease at a precarious time. England had managed to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane (81) and Virat Kohli (91) to claw their way back in the game. However, the pressure did not stop Pant from playing his usual game. At the end of the day, he was batting on 22 off just 31 deliveries with the help of 2 fours and a six.

Coming to the game, India finished day one on a commanding 307 for 6. Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahaul set the tone by adding 60 runs for the first wicket after England invited India to bat first on a lively Trent Bridge track.

Chris Woakes then threatened to trigger a collapse by taking three quick wickets. He dismissed both the openers and Cheteshwar Pujara to leave India reeling at 82 for 3. But that was the only time England were on top on day one.

The second session belonged entirely to India. Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane put India to a good position by stitching together an unbeaten partnership of 107 runs. Both the batsmen had raced away to their fifties when tea was taken. They were looking set for their respective tons. However, Rahane missed it by 19 runs while Kohli missed it by just 3 runs. But their 159-run stand helped India finish the day on a commanding 307 for 6.