Pant: The babysitter who turned six-hitter
Indian batsman Rishabh Pant babysat for Australian skipper Time Pain's children
Dubai: During the Melbourne Test, Australian skipper Tim Paine had sledged at Indian wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant asking him to babysit his children.
Two days ago, Pant sportingly babysat for Paine’s children during the Australian Prime Minister’s reception.
In the Sydney Test Friday, through an unbeaten 159, he hit Paine’s bowlers to prove that he is not only a good babysitter but a big hitter, too.
The Bharat Army fan group in Sydney quickly coined a number soon after his century. “He’ll hit you for a 6. He’ll babysit your kids. We’ve got Rishabh Pant,” they sang with delight.
Twenty-one-year-old Pant has thus now become a babysitter turned six-hitter for everyone.
Record breaker
He is the first Indian wicketkeeper to score a century in Australia, breaking the highest score of 89 scored by Farokh Engineer at Adelaide in 1967, 30 years before Pant was born.
Last year, Pant also became the first Indian wicketkeeper to score a century in England.
The banter between Pant and Paine has been light-hearted and shows that sledging within limits can be harmless and creative.