Pant, rated as one of the most talented young cricketers in India, further enhanced his reputation by scoring his first triple century in first-class cricket in the Ranji Trophy match between Delhi and Maharashtra at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
Coming into bat with Delhi’s score reading 135/3, the 19-year-old never took his foot off the pedal and was in an attacking mood from the word go. It was no surprise to see Pant, who idolises Adam Gilchrist, bat like this.
At one stage, Delhi were 395/6 – behind Maharashtra’s first innings total by 240 runs. That was when Varun Sood joined Pant in the middle. The duo added 182 runs for the seventh wicket, with Sood scoring just 25 of those runs.
Before he was finally dismissed, Pant had hit 308 from just 326 balls at an astounding strike rate of 94.48.
Rishabh Pant is only the 2nd wicketkeeper to score a triple-century in #RanjiTrophy history and 7th wicketkeeper in all FC matches.
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) October 16, 2016
When Pant was out with the score on 577, it looked like Delhi were in with a good chance of holding a first innings lead, but it was not to be, as they lost their last four wickets for just 13 runs and were bowled out for 590.
It was the second triple century of the match as Swapnil Gugale scored an unbeaten 351 in Maharashtra’s first innings. In fact, Gugale – along with Ankit Bawane – put on 594 runs together, registering the second-highest partnership ever in first-class cricket.
Pant’s 308 is the second highest score by any batsman for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy, only bettered by Raman Lamba’s 312 during the 1994-95 season.
Earlier this year, Pant was one of the stars of the ICC U-19 World Cup for runners-up India. On pitches that largely assisted the bowlers, the Delhi batsman notched 267 runs in six matches at an average of 44.50 and a strike rate of 104.29.
