IND vs BAN - Day 3: Rishabh Pant makes fairytale return to Test cricket scoring a ton in second innings

CHENNAI: Nearly 631 days ago, Rishabh Pant lay in a hospital bed, battling life-threatening injuries after a serious car accident on the Delhi-Dehradun highway. Fast forward 21 months, and here in Chepauk, he has scripted a fairytale comeback by scoring a century on his return to Test cricket for India.

In an interview earlier this year, Pant recalled his first thoughts after the accident, believing that "his time in this world was over." But as the saying goes, it’s not over until you decide it is. After receiving immediate treatment in Dehradun, Pant spent much of his recovery under the care of BCCI’s medical team in Mumbai, where he underwent surgeries to reconstruct three ligaments in his right knee. This was followed by an intensive and prolonged rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). The journey back hasn’t been easy, but the Delhi lad persevered. In Chepauk, Pant, alongside Shubman Gill—who notched his fifth Test century—built a crucial fourth-wicket partnership, adding 167 runs from 217 balls.

Gill and Pant resumed their innings under a gloomy Chennai sky on Saturday, picking up right where they left off. With only moderate seam movement and the pitch holding firm on day three, conditions were ideal for batting. Despite occasional caution, India added 124 runs by lunch. Gill opened aggressively, smashing a six over long-on off Mehidy Hasan Miraz's bowling. He followed it up with a similar shot, bringing up his half-century in 79 balls. After averaging 28 in the first innings and 48 in the second, Gill clearly showed signs of progress. Pant, meanwhile, took a liking to Shakib Al Hasan’s left-arm spin, hitting four sixes of his own. His stay at the crease was almost cut short when he lofted the ball high into the air, but Bangladesh captain Najmul Shanto couldn’t hold on to the ball at mid-on when Pant was on 72. Shortly after lunch, Pant reached his well-deserved century. A beaming Gill crossed the pitch to congratulate him as Pant raised his bat to celebrate. However, Pant's innings came to an end soon after when a slower ball from Mehidy Hasan deceived him as he attempted another big shot, bringing an end to the 167-run partnership. Gill, now playing more cautiously, appeared to be waiting for his milestone before India declared their innings. He eventually flicked a ball down the leg side to complete his century, taking a bow towards the dugout and glancing skyward as the 17,000-strong Chennai crowd stood in applause. Thereafter, India declared their innings, leaving Bangladesh with the daunting task of chasing 515 runs with two days to spare. Bangladesh started positively, taking it slow. Openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam put together a 50-run partnership in 66 balls, but it didn’t last long as speedster Jasprit Bumrah struck, removing Zakir thanks to a beautiful diving catch to his left by Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully. Ravichandran Ashwin also joined the action and removed Shadman and most of Bangladesh’s top-order. Ashwin’s short-length delivery induced a leading edge from Shadman, who was caught by Gill. Mushfiqur hit a six off Ashwin but was dismissed in the very next delivery. Ashwin had also dismissed Mominul Haque with a variation in pace, with the ball hitting the stumps as it passed the batter. Play was later stopped due to bad light, with Bangladesh still needing 356 runs to win.

Brief Scores: India 376 in 91.2 overs and 287/4 decl. in 64 overs (Rishabh Pant 109, Shubman Gill 119 not out) vs Bangladesh 149 in 47.1 overs and 158/4 in 37.2 overs (Najmul Hossain Shanto 51*, Ravichandran Ashwin 3/64)