Indian star keeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been receiving praises from all corners for his terrific performances with the bat in the just-concluded final Test match at Edgbaston. In the first innings, Rishabh Pant played a record-breaking knock of 146 runs in just 111 balls. Later, in the second innings, he played a crucial knock of 57 runs in 86 balls.
Rishabh Pant Broke Farokh Engineer’s Record
All thanks to his terrific performances in both innings, Rishabh Pant became only the second player after Farokh Engineer to score a century and a half-century in the same Test match. Farokh Engineer is the first Indian keeper-batter to score a century and a fifty in the same Test match against England in 1973 at the Brabourne Stadium.
Meanwhile, in an interaction with Sportstar, the former Indian keeper-batter shared his thoughts on his record finally being achieved by Rishabh Pant. He even admitted that he expected MS Dhoni to do the same much earlier. He said:
“I am delighted for Rishabh. He is a fantastic cricketer. I thought maybe MS Dhoni would have done it, but I am surprised that it took so long for an Indian wicketkeeper to equal that record,”
Engineer Hailed Pant For His Terrific Performances
Further, Engineer also expressed his happiness at the fact that Rishabh Pant is finally realizing his true potential. He said:
“I have always thought of Rishabh as a fabulous batter, and a fabulous young man, even though I have met him only once. He has got the measure and responsibility because earlier, he would throw away his wicket so many times. I used to tell myself, ‘He is so talented, why doesn’t he just play the right shot?’ He has got such good eyes and is such a good entertainer,”
He added: “He is such a fine young man and I must say, he has improved a lot in his wicketkeeping as well. Dhoni wasn’t a great wicketkeeper when he started, but look at the way he improved. Similarly, Rishabh is working on his wicketkeeping very hard and I can see that. But as a package, just like Dhoni, Rishabh is a tremendous asset for India, who can score a hundred like that against a good bowling unit,”
