After failing in the first innings, Rishabh Pant made amends in the second essay of the ongoing 2024 Duleep Trophy match between India A and India B at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, September 7. The left-hander scored 61 runs off 47 balls, a knock laced with two sixes and nine boundaries.Pant also shared a crucial 72-run partnership with Sarfaraz Khan during his impressive knock after his team was reduced to 22/3. The southpaw then stitched together a 46-run stand with Nitish Reddy to stretch his team's second innings lead past 200.Pant departed for seven runs off 10 balls in the first innings. The 26-year-old will now look to continue his consistent performance ahead of the Test season, where Team India will play 10 Tests from mid-September 2024 till early January next year.He is critical to India's success against Bangladesh, New Zealand, and especially against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. After returning for T20Is and ODIs this year, he will play his first Test against Bangladesh this month after recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident in December 2022.Fans on X lauded Rishabh Pant for returning back to form with a gusty fifty in the 2024 Duleep Trophy. One user wrote:"WELL PLAYED, RISHABH PANT...!!! - 61 runs from just 47 balls including 9 fours & 2 sixes. Great news for the Indian team ahead of the important Test season."Another user wrote:"61 (47) with 9 fours and 2 sixes - 130 Strike Rate in a First Class match, vintage Pant is back even after missing 21 months of Red Ball cricket."A third user added:"The red ball monster is back."Here are a few more reactions:Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan help India B bounce back after torrid startA crucial partnership between Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan helped India B bounce back against India A in the 2024 Duleep Trophy match. Sarfaraz scored 46 runs off 36 balls, comprising one six and seven boundaries.At the time of writing, India B were 150/6 in the second innings, with Washington Sundar at the crease. They have stretched their second innings lead to 240.Follow the Duleep Trophy live score and updates here.