Pant silences critics, blasts second fastest ton in T20 history

New Delhi: Silencing his critics, dangerous wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has blasted an unbeaten 116 off just 38 deliveries against Himachal Pradesh in a North Zone T20 League (Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy) fixture at the Feroz Shah Kotla here on Sunday.

Pant's blitzkrieg ton, which came in just 32 balls, is now the second fastest century in T20 Cricket history. Chris Gayle holds the record with his 30-ball century for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in Indian Premier League.Pant has the registered his name in the record-books as the only Indian scoring the fastest T20 century.

Chasing the target of 145, Delhi, under Pant's brilliance, achieved the target in just 11.4 overs. Gautam Gambhir (30) remained unbeaten along with centurian Pant.

Earlier, put in to bat, Himachal Pradesh scored 144/8 with Nikhil Gangta (40) scoring majorly.

For Delhi, skipper Pradeep Sangwan scalped two wickets.

Also read: SA vs Ind, 2nd Test: India bundles out South Africa for 335 on Day 2

It is worth mentioning here that Pant was sacked from state captaincy few days before.

Brief scores: Himachal Pradesh 144/8 in 20 overs (Nikhil Gangta 40, Prashant Chopra 30; Pradeep Sangwan 2-39) lost to Delhi 148/0 in 11.4 overs (Rishabh Pant 116*, Gautam Gambhir 30*) by 10 wickets.