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Xtra Time Web Desk: Rishabh Pant became the latest Indian batter to fall heartbreakingly short of a century, joining the unwanted 99-run club in Test cricket. On Saturday (October 10), Pant was dismissed for 99 off 105 balls during India’s first Test against New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. His knock, studded with 18 boundaries and three sixes, came to an end when William O’Rourke took his wicket, just as Pant looked set for his seventh Test hundred.

By getting out on 99, Pant joined the ranks of Indian cricketing greats like MS Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly, both of whom also missed out on centuries by a single run. Ganguly was dismissed on 99 twice — once in 1997 against Sri Lanka in Nagpur, and again in 2002 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, against England. MS Dhoni was dismissed for 99 against England in Nagpur in 2012, famously run out by Alastair Cook.

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Another one into Rishabh Pant's 90s collection ????#WTC25 | #INDvNZ: https://t.co/aDyzitCVDn pic.twitter.com/xixGv9F8JG

— ICC (@ICC) October 19, 2024

Several other Indian batters have faced a similar fate, including Motganhalli Laxminarsu Jaisimha (1960), Pankaj Roy (1959), Virender Sehwag (2010), Navjot Singh Sidhu (1994), Rusi Framroze Surti (1968), Murali Vijay (2014), and Ajit Wadekar (1967-68).

Pant now ranks third on the list of Indian players dismissed most often in the 90s in Test cricket, with seven such dismissals since his debut in 2018. Sachin Tendulkar leads the unfortunate list with 10 dismissals in the 90s, followed by Rahul Dravid with nine. MS Dhoni, Sehwag, Sunil Gavaskar, Sidhu, and Gautam Gambhir also feature in the list.

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Pant’s seven dismissals in the 90s are more than any other player globally since his debut, with Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, and Marnus Labuschagne getting out in the 90s three times each.