Rishabh Pant - India’s lone batting bright light from New Zealand Test series ahead of Australia tour

At a time when Rishabh Pant was making his way back to competitive cricket after a horrific car accident from December, 2022, there was a doubt whether the wicketkeeper-batter would be able to play like he used to do before. The southpaw scored 446 runs for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024 while leading the franchise, played a vital part in India’s T20 World Cup triumph in Barbados a few months after before marking a mark in Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand at home.

The southpaw scored a hundred on his Test return before continuing his same form against the Kiwis in the ongoing series. Coming into the series after a dominating win over Bangladesh last month, Indian literally struggled against a quality New Zealand bowling attack. Not only did India lose the Tests in Bengaluru and Pune, Rohit Sharma’s men were all out for just 46 in the first innings of the first Test against the Kiwis.

While Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli failed miserably in the series, the likes of Sarfaraz Khan, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal shone with the bat occasionally. Pant, for that matter outshone his teammates and has been India’s best batter against New Zealand.

With 240-plus runs so far in six innings, Pant has been highly successful against spin, something which his seniors lacked in the series. On a Wankhede pitch where most batters have struggled to get going, Pant’s strike-rate in excess of 100 speaks volumes of his determination and grit.

Chasing 148 runs to win in the fourth innings on Day 3 of the third and final Test on Sunday, Pant’s fighting unbeaten fifty was more than a hundred where India lost the entire top order with just 29 runs on board.

Undeterred by the situation, Pant started off in his typical fashion with a six off Ajaz Patel. While he counterattacked the opposition from one end, wickets kept falling at the other end before a 42-run stand between Pant and Ravindra Jadeja revived the Indian ship. Pant was eventually dismissed after lunch after a valiant 64.

In fact, it was Pant’s 60 and Gill’s 90 in the first innings that helped India go past New Zealand’s first innings total of 235. Irrespective of the outcome of the third Test, Pant is going to play a vital role in the Indians middle-order in Australia - a place which brought Pant into the Test limelight.

Looking back at Pant's heroics in Australia

Known for his unorthodox shots around the ground, Pant was a key figure in India’s 2018-19 tour of Australia. With the likes of Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami unavailable, it was Pant’s heroic 89 in the second innings that led to India’s three-wicket win over Australia in Brisbane. It was also India’s first Test win at the Gabba after 32 years and also helped the visiting side retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy.

Come November-December, India will be looking up to once again against Australia. Having said that, India also need the likes of Rohit, Virat and Shubman to fire in unison if they want to win the series and stay in contention for a place in the World Test Championship final.