cricket

Updated: Jan 05, 2019 08:52 IST

Rishabh Pant has been a revelation for the Indian cricket team during the ongoing Test series against Australia and the youngster excelled once again as he became the first Indian wicket-keeper batsman to score a Test century in Australia when he slammed an unbeaten 159 on Day 2 of the third Test encounter in Sydney.

Pant surpassed former Indian keeper Farokh Engineer’s score of 89 runs at Adelaide in 1967-68 to become the highest run-getter for India against Australia as a wicket-keeper batsman. He had scored a record ton against England as well when he became the first Indian keeper to score a Test century against them, last year.

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According to a PTI report, the brilliant show by Pant can result in the youngster receiving a central contract from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after being dropped for the current financial year.

India put together their second highest team total on Australian soil, piling up 622/7 declared on the second day of the match. Their highest team total, 705/7 declared, was also incidentally scored at this venue, in 2004.

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Cheteshwar Pujara’s stellar performance against Australia could get him an upgrade to the topmost A plus bracket in the central contracts as the BCCI is deliberating a relaxation of norms for the dependable No.3.

Pujara has so far scored 521 runs in seven innings with three hundreds at an impressive average of 74.42.

(With agency inputs)