Rishabh Pant is one of India’s most electrifying cricketers. His fearless batting and ability to turn matches single-handedly have made him a fan favorite. But there’s a twist in the tale when it comes to his overseas Test centuries, one so strange, it’s almost unbelievable.
Did you know? Every time Rishabh Pant has scored a Test hundred away from home, India has failed to win the match. Not once, not twice, but every single time!
Let’s dive deep into this quirky cricket conundrum and explore the numbers, the matches, and the stories behind this bizarre jinx.
Rishabh Pant has scored six overseas Test centuries in just five matches. That’s impressive by any standard. But here’s the real shocker: in those five matches, India lost four and drew one. That’s right: zero wins when Pant scores a hundred abroad.
Pant’s first overseas Test hundred came at The Oval in 2018. He scored a gritty 114, but India lost the match by 118 runs. A promising start for Pant, but not the result India wanted.
Next up, Sydney 2019. Pant remained unbeaten on 159. India even enforced the follow-on, but rain washed out the final day, and the match ended in a draw. So close, yet so far.
In 2022, Pant stood tall with an unbeaten hundred on a tough Cape Town pitch. But India lost the match by 7 wickets. Once again, Pant’s heroics weren’t enough to secure a win.
Later that year, Pant’s 146 helped India take a 132-run lead at Edgbaston. But England, riding the wave of ‘Bazball’, chased down a record 378 in the fourth innings. Another heartbreaking loss.
And then came the twin hundreds at Headingley. Pant scored over 250 runs in the match, but India somehow still managed to lose. Six centuries, zero wins.
Here’s where it gets even more interesting. The two times Pant was dismissed in the 90s in overseas Tests, India didn’t lose. In Sydney 2021, Pant scored 97 and India secured a historic draw. In Mirpur against Bangladesh in 2022, his 93 helped India win by 3 wickets.
So, getting Pant out in the 90s abroad has actually been better for India than letting him score a hundred!
Pant’s centuries often come when India is under pressure, trying to salvage a tough situation. His aggressive style means he’s often the last man standing, but the team’s overall performance hasn’t always matched his heroics. Cricket is a team game after all and even the best individual performances can’t always secure a win.
With his talent and determination, it’s only a matter of time before he scores an overseas hundred and India wins the match. Maybe it’ll happen in the very next Test!
Also watch: 5 Uncomfortable Truths Team India has to accept after Leeds letdown
