NEW DELHI: Swashbuckling Rishabh Pant smacked a dazzling hundred in the second innings of the first Test in Chennai against Bangladesh to make his comeback to the longest format memorable.
Pant's aggressive 128-ball 109 along with Shubman Gill's unbeaten 119 helped India set a massive 515 target for Bangladesh in the fourth innings which the visitors failed to accomplish, losing the match by 280 runs.
On the third day of the Test, the fans saw a vintage Pant, smashing the bowlers left, right and centre.
After beginning the day cautiously, Pant gradually settled in and then took apart the opposition bowlers.
As Pant lit up the Chepauk, the keeper-batter on Sunday revealed that it was skipper Rohit Sharma, who gave the batters an hour to bat which made him turn up the screws on the Bangladesh bowlers.
In a post match chat, Pant said that at lunch break on Day 3, Rohit told him and Gill that they can score as many runs in an hour which made him eye a 150-plus score upon his return.
After Pant and Gill show, spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja wreaked havoc in the fourth innings as Bangladesh succumbed to 234 all out in the tall chase.
While Ashwin bagged a six-for, Jadeja claimed three wickets as India wrapped up the game inside 10 sessions to go 1-0 up in the 2-Test series.
Local boy Ashwin was adjudged Player of the match for his hundred and a six-for in the game.
