Team India`s vice-captain Rishabh Pant broke several records after his stunning knock on Day 3 of the third Test match against England at the Lord`s Cricket Ground.
Facing 112 balls, the left-hander garnered 74 runs, which were laced with eight boundaries and two maximums.
The swashbuckling left-hander registered his name in six-hitting record books by leaving behind the legendary Sir Vivian Richards for the most sixes against the `Three Lions` in the longest format of the game. Pant now has 35 maximums against the Englishmen, bettering the former West Indies cricketer`s record of 34.
Pant is now also levelled with former Team India skipper Rohit Sharma for smashing the joint-second-highest sixes for the side in Test Cricket. He is now tied with Rohit with 88 sixes under their names each.
Additionally, the Uttarakhand-born cricketer took 46 Test matches to achieve the feat, compared to Rohit`s 67. He is now just shy of two maximums from surpassing Virender Sehwag to become the Indian batsman to smash the most maximums in the history of Test Cricket.
He also surpassed MS Dhoni to become the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman with the most runs in a tour to England. Pant now has the tally of 416 runs under his belt. Previously, Dhoni held the record with 349 runs, which came in 2014.
The left-hander also became the first visiting wicket-keeper to score 400-plus runs in a single Test series on English soil.
Pant`s game-changing exploits ended on the final ball before the end of the first session. While attempting to steal a quick single, Pant was late to set off and was caught short of the crease by England Test captain Ben Stokes` brilliance. He picked up the ball, turned towards the non-striker`s end and rattled the stumps with his precise throw, forcing Pant to return on 74 (112).
Currently, India`s Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy are unbeaten at the crease as the side trails by more than 50 runs. The visitors have lost five wickets and will be aiming to put on a big score on board against the Ben Stokes-led England.
(With ANI Inputs)
