Rishabh Pant breaks Kapil Dev's 40-year-old record in 2nd test
Bengaluru, Mar 13: Flamboyant wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant on Sunday broke the legendary Kapil Dev's 40-year-old record of fastest Test fifty by an Indian on the second day of the Day/Night match against Sri Lanka here.
The dashing left-hander cruised to his fifty in 28 balls (7x4, 2x6) in the 42nd over of Indian second innings when he hit a Praveen Jayawickrama delivery through the extra cover boundary.
India's first World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev had cracked a 30-ball half-century against Pakistan in the Karachi Test in 1982.
"Rishabh Pant surpasses Kapil Dev to score the fastest 50 by an Indian in Test cricket... Take a bow, Rishabh," posted BCCI in its Twitter handle.
Pant also set a world record for notching up the fastest fifty by a wicketkeeper-batter in Tests, bettering the efforts of Australia's Ian Smith and former India captain MS Dhoni (both scored 34-ball fifty).
Pant, however, could not make it big and got out in the same score and over, giving Jayawickrama a return catch in the final delivery.
Shardul Thakur is the third in the list of fastest Test fifty by an Indian with his 31-ball half-century in the Oval Test against England last year.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag has scored a 32-ball 50 against England in Chennai in 2008.
FIFTY!@RishabhPant17 surpasses Kapil Dev to score the fastest 50 by an Indian in Test cricket. It has come off 28 deliveries.
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 13, 2022
Take a bow, Rishabh 👏💪💥
Live - https://t.co/t74OLq7xoO #INDvSL @Paytm pic.twitter.com/YcpJf2sp2H
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Iran says Ayatollah Khamenei “steadfast, actively commanding field"
Tehran: A senior member of the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is being quoted by Iranian media amid conflicting reports about his status in the ongoing conflict with Israel and the United States.
According to Iranian media reports, the official said, “Ayatollah Khamenei is steadfast and resolute, and is actively commanding the field.” The remarks were made in response to widespread unverified reports circulated in some foreign media that claimed the supreme leader had been killed in recent US–Israeli strikes on Iran.
The statement counters reports suggesting a change in Iran’s leadership after the military escalation. There has been no independent confirmation of Khamenei’s status.
