Rishabh Pant topples Ben Stokes' six-hitting record with boisterous knock in Birmingham
The dynamic wicketkeeper batter continued his endeavours to entertain fans with his six-hitting prowess on the fourth day of the second Test in Birmingham. In his quick-fire 65 from 58 deliveries, Pant smoked the ball into the stands thrice to break England captain Ben Stokes' record for hammering the most sixes in Test format in an away country.
Following his rollicking exploits at the crease, Pant boasts 24 sixes in Tests in England, the most for any batter in the format in an away country, surpassing Stokes' 21 in South Africa. West Indies legend Vivian Richards follows in the third spot with a tally of 16 in England.
Pant took the mantle to pile up runs on the board at a lightning-fast speed, which was the need of the hour for India with less than two days of play left. The 27-year-old joined hands with Test captain Shubman Gill after a toe-crushing full-length delivery from Josh Tongue rattled the stumps, forcing KL Rahul to return on 55(84).
Pant opened his account in flamboyant style, anticipating the back-of-the-length delivery and pulling the ball away for a four. On the next delivery, with a flat-batted swipe, he audaciously cleared the boundary rope for a six.
The swashbuckler received an unprecedented lifeline after he came charging out of his crease to take the aerial route. He didn't get the elevation and dispatched it straight to Zak Crawley at mid-off, who tried to grab it but failed to hold on, leaving Stokes in dismay.
Pant punished England in the next over by sweeping the ball over backwards square for his second six of the day. After lunch, Pant brought up his fifty with a single and then lofted the ball cleanly for his third towering six. Engand's frontline spinner, Shoaib Bashir, removed Pant for the second time in the second Test by luring him to send the ball into Ben Duckett's hands. (ANI)
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