Rishabh Pant pitches himself for Adelaide Test squad with century blitz in practice game

Just days before the commencement of Test series against Australia, wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has put forth a strong foot for selection in the playing XI with his fiery innings in the ongoing practice game. Pant smashed a spectacular century, scoring 22 runs off the last over of the day's play to reach hundred. His knock comprised of 9 fours and 6 sixes and he paced his innings at a strike rate of 141.10. 

With his century blitz in the practice game, Pant who was expected to be Wriddhiman Saha's understudy for the tour has now placed his foot in the door of selection. While Saha has been unable to replicate Pant's explosive innings, he has been India's first-choice keeper in Tests. Pant's century also sent Twitter into a frenzy as netizens welcomed the Delhi-lad back into form. Here's how netizens reacted: 

The Day 2 of the practice game saw Indian batsmen torment the Aussies as all of them except Shaw and skipper Rahane, scored above 50. Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill notched up precious half-centuries whereas Hanuma Vihari partnered with Rishabh Pant to bring up their individual centuries. India now leads by 472 runs at the end of play on Day 2. 

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Bumrah notches up 50

On the first day which witnessed the falling of 20 wickets, India's Jasprit Bumrah notched up his maiden first-class half-century. At 123-9, India’s speed veteran Jasprit Bumrah was joined at the crease by fellow pacer and No.11 batsman Mohammed Siraj. Interestingly, the two cricketers defied all statistical odds and extended India’s total to 194 with their 71-run 10th wicket stand. Bumrah himself scored 55 runs from just 57 balls to notch up his maiden first-class fifty. On the other hand, Siraj scored 22 runs from 34 balls before giving his wicket away to Mitchell Swepson. Prior to Jasprit Bumrah’s unbeaten 55-run knock, he held a first-class average of just 7.6. Moreover, his Test batting average was even worse at 2.9. Here is a look at some of the best bits from his innings against Australia A on Day 1.

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India look to snap Australia's winning streak 

The odds are against India heading into the Adelaide Test and they will need to play out of their skins in order to come out on top and rewrite history. Kohli & Co. have their task cut out come December 17 as the Aussies have not lost a single D/N Test match ever since their first contest against New Zealand back in November 2015. The top-ranked Test side have since gone on to win all the five matches that have been played under lights at home. 

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However, the Men in Blue will miss their skipper Virat Kohli after the first test as he is set to fly back home for the birth of his first child. The Melbourne Cricket Ground (26-30 December) will host the Boxing Day Test, before the action moves to the Sydney Cricket Ground (7-11 January) and the Gabba (15-19 January). As per reports, Rohit Sharma has been deemed fit and will be set to appear in the last two tests.

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