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Rishabh Pant gets into record books on Test debut

August 19, 2018 12:54 IST

Rishabh Pant became the first Indian to hit a six as the first scoring shot of his Test career, notes Rajneesh Gupta.

Rishabh Pant

IMAGE: Rishabh Pant. Photograph: BCCI Domestic/Twitter

Rishabh Pant -- all of 20 -- made his Test debut against England at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Saturday, August 18, 2018.

Pant has the reputation of being a prolific hitter of sixes in domestic cricket and the youngster was not overawed by the big occasion.

After playing his first ball defensively to cover, the left-hander dispatched leg-spinner Adil Rashid for a straight six.

In doing so, he became the first Indian -- and only the 12th player on record -- to hit a six as the first scoring shot of his Test career.

The accompanying tables list all known instances. It must be noted that the instances shown are the ones which are confirmed.

The complete details of some Tests are not available and any missing information is most welcome.

 

Players' first scoring shot, a six on Test debut (first time they batted)

BatsmanBowlerTeamsVenueSeason
Eric Freeman Erapalli Prasanna Aus v Ind Brisbane 1967-1968
Carlisle Best Ian Botham WI v Eng Kingston 1985-1986
Keith Dabengwa Daniel Vettori Zim v NZ Bulawayo 2005
Dale Richards Mashrafe Mortaza WI v Ban Kingston 2009
Shafiul Islam Amit Mishra Ban v Ind Chittagong 2009-2010
Mark Craig Sulieman Benn NZ v WI Kingston 2014
Dhananjaya de Silva Steven O'Keefe SL v Aus Pallekele 2016
Rishabh Pant Adil Rashid Ind v Eng Nottingham 2018

The following players hit a six as their first scoring shot in the second innings of their debut Test having batted in the first and not scoring any run:

 

BatsmanBowlerTeamsVenueSeason
Jahurul Islam Graeme Swann Ban v Eng Mirpur 2009-2010
Sunil Ambris Trent Boult WI v NZ Wellington 2017-2018

The following players hit a six as their first scoring shot in their second Test having batted earlier and not scoring any run:

 

BatsmanBowlerTeamsVenueSeason
Al-Amin Hossain Rangana Herath Ban v SL Mirpur 2013-2014
Kamrul Islam Moeen Ali Ban v Eng Dhaka 2016-2017

 

Rajneesh Gupta