Watch: Rishabh Pant slams Mitchell Starc for two consecutive sixes on Day 2 of SCG Test

Rishabh Pant was in the limelight in the ongoing fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 being played at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney. The series is 2-1 in favor of Australia, who won in Adelaide and Melbourne, while India won in the Perth Test, while Brisbane ended in a draw.

India captain Jasprit Bumrah, who led the Indian team after Rohit Sharma opted out of the SCG Test, won the toss and chose to bat first. Thanks to Rishabh Pant’s 40 and contributions from Ravindra Jadeja (26) and Jasprit Bumrah (22), India posted 185 runs on day one in the first innings.

In reply, Australia managed 181 runs, thanks to debutant Beau Webster’s 57 and Steve Smith’s 33 runs. For India, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna were the main bowlers, with three wickets each to their name. Jasprit Bumrah took 2 wickets before leaving the field after lunch due to back issues, and Nitish Kumar Reddy took 2 wickets as well.

The Indian batting lineup came with a plan to attack the Australian bowlers, and Yashasvi Jaiswal (22), KL Rahul, and Shubman Gill (13 each) embodied that spirit, despite losing their wickets soon. Virat Kohli fell for 6 runs, against outside the off-stump, and for the fourth time in this series to Scott Boland.

However, Rishabh Pant had other ideas as he started his knock with a six off the first ball, charging at Scott Boland. He continued his assault on all Australian bowlers with disdain. However, the wicketkeeper was unconcerned and dealt with the opposition in his own unique style, repeatedly taking the ball to the cleaners.

Pant hit a six against Starc on the second delivery of the 22nd over to achieve his half-century in style off just 29 deliveries, making it the second quickest half-century by an Indian in Test cricket, with the previous high of 28 balls coming from a southpaw's bat against Sri Lanka.

However, his knock ended on 61 runs in just 33 balls with 4 sixes and 6 fours as India was pushed to a good total despite losing wickets on the other end.

Here is the video:

https://x.com/StarSportsIndia/status/1875428068011184142 

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