On the opening day of the 1st Test between India and Australia in Perth, Rishabh Pant etched his name in the record books with a vital 37-run knock. His performance helped India reach 150 after a dramatic collapse of the top order at Optus Stadium. With this innings, Pant became the first player in history to score over 2,000 runs as a wicketkeeper in the World Test Championship (WTC), currently sitting at 2,034 runs.
Pant’s achievement is particularly notable, as he is the leading run-scorer among wicketkeeper-batsmen, with Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan (1,930 runs) trailing behind him.
Pant Among India’s Top Run-Scorers In WTC
Pant’s achievement positions him as one of India’s highest run-scorers in the WTC. He is third on the list; second-place holders are stalwarts Rohit Sharma with 2,685 runs, and Virat Kohli with 2,432 runs. On the all-time list, England’s Joe Root leads with an incredible 5,325 runs in 61 matches, where he has continued to move forward in the WTC run charts.
Pant’s Effort Fuels India’s Fightback
It was at a time when India needed to rebuild the innings after being bowled out for just 150 runs. The foundation of the innings lay in partnerships, as debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy played a carefully crafted 41-run knock. His stability at the wicket became important since he and Pant shared an important partnership that gave India a fighting chance after their early collapse.
Reddy’s Vital Contribution
The only bright spark from a very disappointing batting show by India was some half-hearted effort by Reddy, who made 41 runs off 59 balls. Such was the importance of his contribution in redeeming the Indian innings at one stage that India managed to cross 150, from where the bowlers could take heart and perform in the later session.
