Rishabh Pant performs ‘puja’ of his bat before going out to bat on Day 3 of IND vs BAN 1st Test – Watch

Rishabh Pant made a remarkable return to Test cricket, scoring 109 runs and equaling MS Dhoni’s tally of Test centuries, while showcasing impressive shot-making against Bangladesh.

New Delhi: Team India star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was seen worshiping his bat before the start of the play of the third day of the first Test match against Bangladesh in Chennai on Saturday, September 21. Pant made a fantastic return to Test cricket with a brilliant hundred on third day.

But he was dismissed for 109 when Mehidy Hasan Miraz caught him off his own bowling. Rishabh Pant, during his impressive 128-ball innings, hit 13 fours and four sixes. At lunch, India were at 205/3, with Shubman Gill having begun the day on 33 and Pant resuming on 12. Both batsmen cashed in on the lack of BD’s ability to seize the cool, damp morning conditions, making sensible shots throughout their partnership.

Rishabh Pant doing Puja of his bat before going to batting pic.twitter.com/gOXL01PR9i

— ¹⁷ (@twitfrenzy_) September 21, 2024

Making his first Test appearance since December 2022, Pant played a counter attacking knock of 39 runs in the first innings with India reeling at 34/5. However he played an unnecessary shot to throw his wicket after a great start.

Interestingly, Pant’s last test appearance also came against Bangladesh in Mirpur in December 2022. With this ton he equalled former India skipper MS Dhoni’s number of Test centuries. Dhoni completed the feat in 144 innings, Pant reached the milestone in 58 innings. Wriddhiman Saha is third on the list with three Test hundreds.

India declared their innings at 287/4 after both Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill reached their centuries. Rohit Sharma then sent his players back, setting Bangladesh a target of 515 runs.