Rishabh Pant scores the fastest first-class century by an Indian

Unless you have been living under a rock, you must have known by now that one player has totally electrified this Ranji season. The name goes by Rishabh Pant. After smashing a triple ton earlier this season, he has now set the Ranji Trophy ablaze with a stunning century in just 48 balls against Jharkhand.

After seeing his U-19 captain at the last World Cup, Ishan Kishan scored a 273, he responded first with a quick-fire 117 in the first innings. That didn’t prove enough as Jharkhand made Delhi follow on. Pant who had hit his first century of the match in 82 balls then proceeded to provide an exclamation point in his second innings by smashing the fastest century ever by an Indian in first-class cricket.

The previous fastest first-class ton by an Indian was by VB Chandrasekhar who registered in 56 balls in an Irani Trophy fixture. The previous fastest century in Ranji Trophy was also hit in 56 balls by Assam’s RK Borah in 1987/88.

Here are the top 3 fastest hundreds by Indians in first-class cricket:

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With Indians looking for a successor to MS Dhoni, Pant has certainly thrown his hat in the ring dramatically and has made people sit up and take notice. And he has done so in a manner that will be hard to ignore. He is not just knocking at the doors anymore-he is on his way on to smash the doors open.

Comparisons with Quinton de Kock have already started making rounds which seems quite unfair on Pant given he is just 19 years old while de Kock has made quite an astounding impression at the world stage. But he is sure living up to the hype that was created by his exploits in the U19 World Cup and in IPL last season for Delhi Daredevils.

Rishabh Pant was finally dismissed for a rollicking 135 which he had scored in just 67 balls. He smashed 13 sixes on his way to 135. He also had registered the most sixes by an Indian in a first-class match, hoisting a scarcely believable 21 sixes.

The last two seasons have been quite exciting with quite a few younger talents making their names in the Ranji Trophy. If it was Shreyas Iyer last year, this has so far turned to out to be Pant’s season. If you are an Indian fan, the fun might have just begun and you will do well to remember this name!

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Here are the fastest centuries in first-class cricket in India after 2014: