Sensational Pant notches up his maiden ODI ton

Swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant's wait for his maiden ODI century finally ended on Sunday as the 24-year-old creamed a breathtaking 125* (113) to help India win the Old Trafford decider by 5 wickets.


Pant brought up the milestone with a pull shot in front of square off David Willey amid rousing reception from the capacity crowd at the iconic venue.


The Delhi basher had to wait for 26 ODIs to finally notch up a three-figure score and he couldn't have chosen a better occasion to do that.


How the chase unfolded

Chasing 260, the Indian top-3 once again failed to rise to the occasion as left-arm pace once again proved to be their undoing. 


With the score reading 3/38, and a long tail to follow, it was all down to the middle-order to take India close to the target. Pant and Suryakumar Yadav added 34 runs for the 4th wicket before Craig Overton produced a jaffa to remove the latter.


Pant looked fidgety at the start as he looked to take the attack to the bowlers, especially Moeen Ali. He was nearly out stumped when he ran past an away going delivery from the off-spinner but Jos Buttler fluffed it.

The partnership that swung the game in India’s favour

However, the southpaw soon settled into a nice rhythm, and along with Hardik Pandya (71 off 55) played old school ODI cricket with lots of singles and doubles during the middle-phase. 


The duo added 133 runs for the 5th wicket and while Hardik eventually perished thanks to a brilliant catch by Ben Stokes at short mid-wicket, Pant ensured he took India over the line. He did get lucky when he was on 97 as he miscued an attempted pull off Overton.


But it was Pant’s day. Soon after getting to his ton,  the southpaw cut loose and proceeded to hammer 6 fours off the next 7 deliveries- including five in a row off Willey- to seal a stunning heist.

Read: Pat Cummins rested for the ODIs against Zimbabwe and New Zealand

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ENG vs IND | Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant steal the limelight as India grab the series 2-1

England were up against India in the 3rd and the final ODI of the bilateral series at Old Trafford. Skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and invited the opposition to have a go with the bat first. England batting never got the start they needed as Mohammed Siraj, featuring for the first time in the series, managed to dismiss both Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow in the 2nd over. Ben Stokes and Jason Roy put up a good 54-run stand for the third wicket, but it was brought to an end by Hardik Pandya before England could turn it into something big. Jos Buttler and middle-order save the day for England, yet again Stokes soon followed suit, leaving England at 74/4. Skipper Jos Buttler took things into his own hands, scoring 60 off 80 deliveries to put up two good partnerships with Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone to see England get over 200. Craig Overton's short cameo of 32 runs off 33 deliveries at the end saw England finish with 259/10 in 45.5 overs. Hardik was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets to his name. Also Read: Suryakumar Yadav expresses his gratitude for captain Rohit Sharma Reece Topley provides England with the dream start Chasing 260, India had a sluggish start as Reece Topley struck once again, carrying his momentum from the second ODI sending Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli back to the pavilion within the first power play leaving India down to 38/3. Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant had a 34 runs partnership for the fourth wicket before Overton struck, sending Surya back to the hut. Rishabh Pant's magnificent ton humbles England However, Hardik and Pant changed the game's tide as they built up a 133- run partnership for the fifth wicket to see India get past 200 runs on the board. Brydon Carse gave England the much-needed breakthrough as he picked up Hardik at 71 off 55 deliveries. Also Read: Hardik was shocked by Mumbai's decision: Ravi Shastri It was too late for England as the damage had already been done as Pant, who brought up his maiden ODI century alongside Ravindra Jadeja, finished the game for India with five wickets in hand to clinch the series. For his heroics with the bat, Pant was adjudged as ‘Player of Match’ while Hardik walked back with the ‘Player of Series’ title. Brief Scores: England: 259/10 (45.5) Jos Buttler 60(80), Jason Roy 41(31) Hardik Pandya 34/4, Yuzvendra Chahal 60/3 India: 261/5 (42.1) Rishabh Pant 125(113), Hardik Pandya 71(55) Reece Topley 35/3, Brydon Carse 45/1 India win by five wickets to clinch the series 2-1