Zoom News : Jan 19, 2021, 01:12 PM
Cricket Desk: An enthralling Day 5 of the fourth and final Test between India and Australia have kept cricket fans on the edge of their seats and glued to the television sets. While India lost opener Rohit Sharma early (7), the day has so far belonged to two youngsters in the form of Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant. While Gill has made a strong case for a place in the Indian squad for the upcoming home Test series versus England, courtesy a fine 91, Pant registered a milestone as soon as he got off the mark while coming out to bat at the fall of stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane's wicket (24). Pant, who was stranded at 999 runs in whites, got to the 1,000-run mark and became the quickest among Indian wicketkeepers to attain the feat.In the process, the 23-year-old also went past his mentor and former Indian captain MS Dhoni, who had the record in his kitty so far. Dhoni took only 32 innings to enter the 1,000-run club whereas Pant bettered his record, in only his 27th innings. Fastest Indian WK to 1000 Test runs (by innings):27 Rishabh Pant*32 MS Dhoni36 Farokh Engineer37 Wriddhiman Saha39 Nayan MongiaTalking about Dhoni, regarded as a limited-overs legend, the right-hander returned with 4,876 runs in whites, including 6 tons and 33 half-centuries at an average of 38.09. Since his retirement, Pant is being touted to be the next big thing for Team India across formats.Pant has really enjoyed batting in Australian conditions, having crossed the 25-run mark for a record 10 consecutive times in Aussies' own backyard. While his record came to an end in the first essay, being dismissed for 23, the left-hander has been promoted at No. 5 ahead of Mayank Agarwal to dent Australia's chances of a win in the final Test with India chasing 328. The series is levelled at 1-1 with all three results possible in the final session of the tour.