"Hard work truly pays off" – Rishabh Pant reacts after historic draw at SCG

Rishabh Pant continued his fantastic form Down Under as he scored 97 runs in the final innings of the third India-Australia Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). His knock kept the Indian cricket team's hopes alive in the encounter.

Rishabh Pant came out to bat early on day five after stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane lost his wicket to Nathan Lyon.

Pant launched a counter-attack and scored 97 runs off just 118 deliveries to take the Indian cricket team close to Australia's 407-run target.

His innings turned the momentum in India's favor. Ultimately, the match ended in a draw.

"Hard work truly pays off . Happy to contribute to the team. Well done boys. On to Brisbane," Rishabh Pant wrote on Twitter after the match.

It is pertinent to note that Rishabh Pant had suffered an injury during the first innings of the SCG Test. The injury did not allow him to keep wickets during Australia's second innings. However, Pant still came out to bat on day five and denied the hosts a win.

Hard work truly pays off 💪. Happy to contribute to the team. Well done boys. 👏 On to Brisbane. ⏭️ @BCCI pic.twitter.com/RIhpNUsFoI

— Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) January 11, 2021

With Pant tormenting the Aussie bowlers, it looked like the Indian cricket team would be able to pull off an improbable win.

However, following his dismissal, Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin took the safer route and ensured a stalemate in Sydney.

Rishabh Pant has scored 292 Test runs in three innings at the SCG

Rishabh Pant loves batting in Sydney

Rishabh Pant had played a splendid knock of 159* runs in the Sydney Test of the 2018/19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The wicket-keeper batsman maintained his excellent record at the venue with scores of 36 and 97 in the recently-concluded match.

The 23-year-old could have registered his second hundred at the SCG earlier today. Unfortunately, Pant perished while trying to bring up his century with a big hit.

The southpaw tried to attack Nathan Lyon in the 80th over but miscued the shot, with the ball going straight into Pat Cummins' hands.

Rishabh Pant has created history. He gone past Syed Kirmani to become leading run scorer as a Wicketkeeper in Australia in Test Cricket as an Asian.Pant breaking records at the age of just 23. pic.twitter.com/tFs2GH77ZE

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 11, 2021