“Hopefully I did better”: Rishabh Pant after his return to Test Cricket

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 22 (ANI): Rishabh Pant, the dynamic Indian wicketkeeper-batter, reflected on his remarkable return to Test cricket after a challenging period of recovery.

Pant expressed his unique sentiments after the match in an interview, saying, “Definitely a lot special, first I love playing in Chennai and secondly after injury I was looking to play all three formats, this was my first match in this format and hopefully I did better. Definitely it was emotional, I was looking to score runs in each and every game.”

Pant made his return to Test cricket in the two-match long-format series after his life-threatening road accident back in 2022-end. Pant’s emotional journey back to the field highlighted his deep connection with Test cricket.

“Coming back to Test cricket where I belong the most, being on the field gives me pleasure more than anything else,” he shared, emphasizing the joy he derives from the longest format of the game.

Addressing the match situation, Pant revealed his mindset during critical moments.

“I don’t know what people say outside, I tried to read the situation in my own way, when you are 30-3 you need to stitch a partnership and that’s what I did with Gill. To do it with a guy who I have a great relationship with is special,” he added.

Pant’s return and his ability to deliver under pressure underlines his invaluable presence in the Indian Test team.

Indian spinning duo Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took India to a comfortable victory of 280 runs over Bangladesh in the first Test at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Sunday.

Day 4 of the ongoing Chennai Test began with India needing six wickets and Bangladesh needing 357 runs more to win the first match of the two-match series.

For India, Ashwin snapped six wickets in his spell of 21 overs, where he conceded 88 runs. Three wickets were bagged by Jadeja in his spell of 5.1 overs where he conceded 58 runs and bowled two maiden overs. One wicket was taken by Jasprit Bumrah where he conceded just 24 runs and bowled two maiden overs in his 10 overs.

At the time of drinks, Bangladesh were 194/4, with Najmul Hossain Shanto (64) and Shakib Al Hasan (25) unbeaten on the crease.

After drinks, off-spinner Ravichandaran Ashwin provided the first breakthrough for the hosts as he sent back left-hand batter Shakib Al Hasan back to the pavillion. The southpaw was dismissed after scoring 25 runs.

Following the left-hand batter’s departure, the team’s wicketkeeper, Litton Das, came out to bat in the middle along with captain Shanto.

Bangladesh touched the 200 run mark in 53.5 overs as Shanto slammed a boundary on the bowling of Ashwin.

In the next over, Das went back to the dressing room on the bowling of Jadeja after scoring just one run when the team score was 205 runs in the 55th over.

From there on, Bangladesh started to falter and got bowled out for just 234 runs in the 62.1 overs the side faced in their second inning.

Shanto played a magnificent innings of 82 runs off 127 balls which was laced with eight boundaries and three maximums.

At the end of day three, Bangladesh were 158/4, with skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (51) and Shakib Al Hasan (5) unbeaten. Bangladesh started the post-Tea session at 56/0 with Shadman Islam (21) and Zakir Hasan (32) unbeaten on the crease.

Jasprit Bumrah struck early for India in the session, removing Zakir for 33 (47 balls). The rest three wickets were picked by Ravichandran Ashwin as he dismissed Shadman Islam (35), Mominul Haque (13), and Mushfiqur Rahim (13).

The second session of Day three of the Chennai Test resumed with India at 205/3 with Rishabh Pant (82) and Shubman Gill (86) unbeaten on the crease. India now have a lead of 432 runs.

Gill played an unbeaten knock of 119 runs from 176 balls, which was laced with 10 boundaries and four maximums.

Middle-order batter KL Rahul also played a valuable knock of unbeaten 22 runs in 19 balls, which included four boundaries.

India declared their innings when the team score was 287 runs for the loss of four wickets. They set a target of 515 runs for the visitors in order to win the first match of the series.