Is Rishabh Pant the best six-hitter in Test history?
What's the story
Dashing Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant recently made history by becoming the fastest player to complete 100 sixes in Test cricket. He achieved this feat during the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, when he pulled Lahiru Kumara over fine-leg. With this, Pant also became the fourth player overall and first Indian to reach this milestone. Here we dissect whether the southpaw is the best six-hitter in the format's history or not.
Record pace
Pant equals Gilchrist's record
Pant's journey to 100 sixes has been nothing short of phenomenal.
The dasher is the fastest to the milestone in terms of number of matches (51), innings taken (89), and balls faced (2,919), as per Cricinfo.
He took 31 Tests fewer than England's Ben Stokes, and 41 innings and 1,660 balls fewer than Australia's Adam Gilchrist.
Stokes (98) is the only other batter to hit more than 60 Test sixes since Pant's Test debut in August 2018.
Statistics
Unique records in Pant's Test career
Pant's Test career began with a six, hitting one off the second ball he faced.
The maximum came against Adil Rashid in Nottingham.
He has hit at least one six in 43 of his 89 Test innings, the best ratio for any player with a minimum of 50 Test innings.
His six-hitting has been instrumental in his success as a Test batter, contributing nearly one-sixth of his total runs (3,662).
Six-hitting ratio
Pant only behind these names
Pant hits a six every 49.34 balls in Test cricket.
Among 39 batters with at least 50 maximums since 1991, only New Zealand's Tim Southee (27.70) and Pakistan's Shahid Afridi (37.94) have hit sixes more frequently.
However, Southee (15.48) and Afridi (36.51) trail Pant in terms of Test average (43.59).
This reflects Pant's ability to deliver consistently with his aggressive approach.
Spin challenge
Dominance against spin
A major part of Pant's six-hitting has been his dominance against spinners.
Out of his first 100 sixes, a whopping 76 have come against spin.
Only Stokes (90) and Pakistan's Misbah-ul-Haq (79) have hit more Test maximums in this regard.
Pant's frequency of hitting sixes against spin is also impressive, coming once every 27.37 balls.
Feat
Pant owns these sixes milestone
Pant owns the record for smashing the third-most sixes in a bilateral Test series, having hit 17 in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England last year.
His overall tally of 28 sixes in England is the most for any visiting batter in a nation (excluding neutral games).
Pant has also been a prolific run-scorer for India, amassing over 3,662 runs at an average of 43.59.
He is the second-highest run-scorer as a wicketkeeper for India in Tests, only behind MS Dhoni (4,876).
Conclusion
Pant is one of the best, if not the best
Given the frequency of six-hitting, Pant is certainly the best, as he also boasts an average exceeding 43.
He is also just among the six batters to hit 50 Test sixes away from home while averaging over 40 (41.18).
Notably, Pant doesn't average under 37 in any country where he has played at least three games.
This makes him an all-condition six-hitting machine.
He should be able to surpass Stokes's tally of most Test sixes (138) within three years.