Delhi's Rishabh Pant's maiden triple ton was not enough in front of Maharashtra's whirlwind 635-2 as the Swapnil Gugale-led side earned a valuable three point-lead in the first innings of the Ranji Trophy Group 'B' match
Rishabh Pant
Delhi's Rishabh Pant's maiden triple ton was not enough in front of Maharashtra's whirlwind 635-2 as the Swapnil Gugale-led side earned a valuable three point-lead in the first innings of the Ranji Trophy Group 'B' match at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday. The 19-year-old Pant created history to become only the second wicketkeeper to score a triple ton in the history of Ranji Trophy. Andhra Pradesh's Srikar Bharat (308) was the first.
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Pant, whose innings was laced with nine sixes and 42 boundaries, came in to bat when Delhi were 135-3. He departed to left-arm spinner Satyajeet Bachhav's delivery when Delhi needed just 58 runs to take a first innings lead. Delhi then succumbed to a batting collapse. They lost the remaining three wickets for just 13 runs.
Pant, who represented India early this year in the U-19 World Cup, had never scored a double century till yesterday. He attributed his success to his coach Tarak Sinha. "I had never played such a big innings and had not even scored a double hundred. Before this match I had a word with my coach Tarak sir. He told me that nobody will take your century seriously, so go for a bigger innings. He is my mentor and also motivated me to build such an innings," Pant told mid-day yesterday.
"This triple ton has taught me how to build a big innings," he added. Meanwhile, in Group 'A' match Mumbai and Baroda played in Delhi ended in a draw with the former walking away with first innings lead and three points.