There are some cricketers who don’t do anything that the book says, and Rishabh Pant is one of them. It takes something special for you to become one of India’s all-time greats even before playing 50 Tests. But Pant managed to do that, especially if we talk about wicket-keepers. In the last few years, he has been India’s great disruptor in Test cricket. Someone who could change the mood of a match in a session, whether it was at the Gabba, The Oval or Ahmedabad.
That is precisely why the conversation around him before the Afghanistan Test was interesting. Gautam Gambhir and Ryan ten Doeschate weren’t asking Pant to stop being Pant. They were asking him to recognise where he now stands on this Indian side. With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli gone from the Test setup, Pant is no longer the young gun with nothing to lose. He is one of the senior players expected to set the tone.
Until the last series, he was even the vice-captain of the side. However, the management has given that role to KL Rahul, thinking that no leadership role should bog Pant down. He’s that important of a batter. In fact, since his Test debut, no other Indian player has scored more Test runs than him. But Pant has his own way of dominating. Gambhir, particularly, went out in the open and said that the star batter needs to be better at reading the situation and act accordingly. That’s why his innings against Afghanistan was crucial to watch.
Catch IND vs AFG Test live blog here.
‘Slow’ Rishabh Pant in New Chandigarh for India
After India opted to bat first, Pant got a chance to bat on Day 1 itself. Fascinatingly, he looked different. When Pant walked in, India were already in a commanding position thanks to a century from KL Rahul. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill was dominating the pacers as well. In a normal world, Pant’s temptation would have been to immediately impose himself and chase quick runs.
After all, the pitch was doing much for the older ball. The Afghani players were tired and he just came after a poor IPL 2026 campaign, after which he even gave up his LSG captaincy. However, Pant didn’t do his thing. He took time to settle in and didn’t go attacking.
While commentating, Michael Clarke and Abhinav Mukund were hopeful that Pant would pull out some of his breathtaking strokes like a reverse scoop to a pacer. But Murali Karthik was quick to correct them that they won’t see anything like that. Karthik was eventually correct. He, perhaps, knew what the chatter was about before the match.
Interestingly, Pant did hit three sixes in an over to off-spinner Abdul Malik. However, those shots were all clean-hitting strokes that came against overpitched deliveries and also when the fielders were inside the 30-yard circle. But those were it. He didn’t hit a single six after that in his 121-ball innings.
Rishabh Pant’s slowest 50+ knocks in Tests
| Runs | Balls Faced | Strike Rate | Innings | Opposition | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 106 | 47.16 | 3 | England | The Oval | 2 Sep 2021 |
| 89* | 138 | 64.49 | 4 | Australia | Brisbane | 15 Jan 2021 |
| 74 | 112 | 66.07 | 2 | England | Lord’s | 10 Jul 2025 |
| 57 | 86 | 66.27 | 3 | England | Birmingham | 1 Jul 2022 |
| 81 | 121 | 66.94 | 1 | Afghanistan | New Chandigarh | 6 Jun 2026 |
| 92 | 134 | 68.65 | 2 | West Indies | Hyderabad | 12 Oct 2018 |
You didn’t see any fancy or risky shots from Pant until on Day 2. That too came when he tried to counter-attack the second new ball that was doing so much for the Afghani pacers. He danced down the track a few times but didn’t go overboard. There weren’t any reverse sweeps or scoops that previously made all of us go, “what the…”
In fact, his 81-run knock in New Chandigarh proved to be Pant’s slowest fifty in India. Overall, it was his fifth-slowest 50+ score but all of the first four came in difficult conditions and situations. Pant reached his half-century off 70 deliveries and gradually built a substantial fourth-wicket partnership with Gill. Together they added 169 runs, allowing India to move beyond 450 and completely shut Afghanistan out of the contest.
A non-Pant-like innings
Traditionally, Pant’s dismissals often come while trying to force the pace. While he eventually fell while attempting a slog agianst a spinner, there was a noticeable reduction in risk during the early phase of his innings. He left more balls, respected the good deliveries and waited for scoring opportunities.
Take his runs against left-arm spinner Kharote for example. Usually against left-arm spinners, Pant is a giant in Tests. Just ask the likes of Jack Leach, Keshav Maharaj, Taijul Islam and Ajaz Patel. However, against Afghanistan’s Kharote, Pant made just 11 off 17 balls. No, these aren’t bad numbers but also aren’t how Pant likes to operate.
His strike rate against New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel is 132.9. Against Maharaj it is 156.4 and 135 against Taijul. So, basically, Pant loves to attack his favourable matchup, which is the left-arm spinners. But he curbed his instincts, too, on a track that didn’t do much for the slower bowlers. Pant may have ended up scoring 81 but it was an unnatural innings for someone like him. It wasn’t secondary but he could’ve done a whole other level of damage if there weren’t talks about his methods.
