NEW DELHI: India’s Rishabh Pant enjoyed the experience of setting the field against himself in the opening test against Bangladesh in Chennai, the maverick wicket-keeper/batsman said.

Pant made a belligerent hundred in his first test since a horrific car accident in 2022 as India thumped Bangladesh by 280 runs in the series opener at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.

As entertaining with the bat as with his relentless chatter from behind the stumps, Pant was seen advising Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto what the field setting should be while he was batting.

“One fielder here, midwicket,” Pant was caught saying in the stump microphone gesturing to the leg side. Shanto even obliged him by deploying a player there on day three of the contest.

Not that it could stop Pant from bringing up his sixth Test hundred — equalling Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s record for the most centuries by an Indian wicket-keeper.

“The understanding of the game for me is that cricket should improve wherever you play,” Pant said in a video shared by the Indian board on Monday.

“So I was just trying to help the team that you can set a fielder here, and it was amazing... I enjoyed it.”

Pant is used to setting fields as Delhi Capitals captain in the Indian Premier League.

There is hardly a dull moment when the 26-year-old is out there in the field, and his non-stop commentary from behind the stumps and good-humoured banter with rivals make him a fan favourite.

India will be eyeing a 2-0 series sweep when the teams clash in the second and final Test in Kanpur on Friday.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2024