Injured Wicketkeeper-Batter Rishabh Pant Defies Pain to Break Records, Earning Praise from Cricket Legends, But Series Future Remains in Doubt
Manchester, England: Rishabh Pant is the reason why the cricketing world is so excited. Sachin Tendulkar, India’s famous batter, has praised the dynamic wicketkeeper-batter for his sheer willpower and brave play on Day 2 of the ongoing fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 at Old Trafford in Manchester. What makes Pant’s fifty even more impressive is that he hurt his toe badly on Day 1. It has since been found that he has a slight complex fracture in his right foot, which could keep him out of the rest of the series.
Pant’s presence at the crease was nothing short of heroic, and it will be remembered in the history of Test cricket. When Shardul Thakur was out for 41, the sight of Pant, who was clearly hobbling and in pain, heading out to bat sent a strong wave through the Manchester crowd. Everyone in the stadium stood up and cheered loudly in support of his great bravery.
Pant hit a stunning 54 runs off just 75 balls, despite the excruciating pain. His innings included three boundaries and two huge sixes. Fans and professionals alike were amazed by how well he did under such stress.
Sachin Tendulkar, who is known for his profound comments, wrote a poignant tribute to Pant on X (previously Twitter): “Resilience is about playing through pain and rising above it.” It was quite brave of @RishabhPant17 to walk back into the game with an injury and play like that. His fifty is a strong reminder of how tough and determined you have to be to represent your country. A bold endeavor that people will remember for a long time. “Good job, Rishabh!”
Pant got accolades from more than just Tendulkar. Yuvraj Singh, a former all-rounder for India, also posted on Instagram to praise the Indian vice-captain’s “indomitable spirit.”
“True spirit shows up when the spirit is strong!” “Good stuff @rishabhpant,” Yuvraj commented on Instagram. “Injury can shake the body but not the mind.”
Rishabh Pant keeps breaking records and winning hearts. He shows how tough he is with the bat in hand, even when he’s plainly having a hard time physically. His gutsy fifty in Manchester tied the record for the most sixes hit by an Indian in Test cricket, which was set by the great opener Virender Sehwag. Both now have an amazing 90 sixes in the longest format of the game, which puts them in a tie. Pant, who is known for his aggressive strokeplay, is now tied for first place with Sehwag. Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, is close behind with 88 sixes. Next is MS Dhoni with 78, and Ravindra Jadeja is fifth with 74 sixes. Pant hit 90 sixes in his 47 Tests, which is even more impressive than Sehwag’s 103 matches.
Pant also passed Rohit Sharma to become India’s top run-scorer in the World Test Championship (WTC) era, which is even more astounding. The left-handed batsman has scored an amazing 2731 runs in just 38 Test matches, including six centuries and sixteen fifties. Rohit has 2719 WTC runs, which is a lot.
What makes Pant’s accomplishment even more impressive is the background and bravery: he batted again on Thursday even though he hurt his toe badly on Day 1. He didn’t go with the squad on Day 2, but he subsequently showed up at the ground wearing a “moon boot” and using a stick, which made it evident how bad his condition was. Dhruv Jurel will be the wicketkeeper for the rest of this Test match. Early reports say that Pant would be out for six to eight weeks, which means he might miss the rest of the series.
Even if this is bad news, Pant’s 54 runs in Manchester are now his 14th fifty-plus score in Tests since he made his debut, beating MS Dhoni’s thirteen. The left-handed batsman has scored six hundreds and eight fifties in his Test career.
Pant’s brave act of putting up with a lot of agony to help the team win and make his name even more famous in the record books shows how dedicated he is to the Indian team, even though his future in the series is still up in the air.