Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

On This Day (Jan. 4): A Keeper’s Knock to Remember – When THIS Asian Keeper Scored the First-Ever Century in Australia

India has had a string of great wicketkeepers, but none of them managed a century on Aussie soil until 2019

For any batter hailing from any country, getting a century in Test cricket on Australian soil is definitely a part of their bucket list. The situation further becomes trickier for wicketkeepers, who are usually middle-order batters and come down the pecking order because of which they do not find much time to grab a century.

When it comes to the Indian team, despite its long history of brilliant wicketkeeper-cum-batters, it was only in 2019 that an Indian wicketkeeper batter scored the first-ever Test century on Australian soil. In fact, the player in question was the first-ever Asian wicketkeeper batter to hit a 100 in Australia in a Test game.

622 on board, 159 by a wicketkeeper batter

Winning the toss at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), a Virat Kohli-led side had a decent opening. Mayank Agarwal scored 77, whereas No. 3 batter Cheteshwar Pujara scored a whopping 193 in 373 balls. However, the cheap wickets of KL Rahul (9), Virat Kohli (23), and Ajinkya Rahane (18) slowed down the innings in the middle order. HanumaVihari, with his 42, tried to stabilise the innings, but he also left without completing his half-century.

On the other hand, though, was Rishabh Pant, slowly turning his efforts into a massive knock for India. Batting on 96, having faced 137 balls, Pant smashed Marnus Labuschagne towards the midwicket and secured a boundary to raise his bat. Pant’s historic hundred was done as he broke Farokh Engineer’s record, who had scored 89 in Adelaide in 1967, the previous highest score by a wicketkeeper batter in a Test game on Aussie soil.

The wicketkeeper batter from Roorkee, Uttarakhand, did not stop at 100 and kept his knock going until 159, which helped India post a mammoth target of 622 in the first innings.

Despite all the efforts, the game ended in a draw, but India won the series, having defeated Australia in Melbourne and Adelaide.

Pant’s lack of composure

Over the years, Pant has cemented himself as a star Indian batter with a talented set of gloves behind the wickets. However, since coming back from his injury sustained in the deadly accident, Pant has lacked composure, often giving away his wickets cheaply. His aggressive batting approach in Melbourne got him out and attracted severe criticism from all quarters, especially former Indian veteran Sunil Gavaskar, who lost his calm in the commentary box and lashed out at Pant on the mic.

Overall, the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy has not been a memorable one for Pant, having scored 38 in the first game followed by 49 in Adelaide, nine runs in Brisbane, and 58 runs in the Melbourne Test. Talks of DhruvJurel replacing Pant are already grabbing headlines, but the final playing XI will be known only when Australia and India take the field on the morning of January 3, 2025.