Rishabh Pant is out of form. He should be replaced by Dhruv Jurel. His place in Test XI is in doubt. India’s new Test vice-captain Rishabh Pant has heard and read many narratives since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. His unorthodox style of batting has found fans and criticism both, including Sunil Gavaskar’s famous rant of Stupid, Stupid, Stupid in Australia. In the IND vs ENG 1st Test in Headingly, Pant had to prove his doubters wrong. And he did that, batting in an orthodox way. Pant scored his third Test century in England, 2nd in his last four innings in England, to surpass MS Dhoni (6 Test centuries).
While the commentators continued to remind everyone that Pant had been dismissed in the 90s seven times before, he was never in a hurry to get to the triple-digit mark. Ben Stokes tried to poke him to play attacking shots, but even as the ball dipped suddenly, Pant went on the defensive, chuckling at Stokes in reply.
Shubman Gill kept reminding Pant to keep his composure. In the end, Pant got to his 7th Test century but not without playing an attacking shot. He took Shoiab Bashir on for a 6 to get to his ton and pull off a somersault celebration. This was Pant’s second consecutive century, as his last one came in IPL 2025.
Most Test centuries by Wicketkeeper batters
| Player | Country | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Gilchrist | Australia | 17 | 26 |
| Andy Flower | Zimbabwe | 12 | 23 |
| Leslie Ames | England | 8 | 7 |
| Matt Prior | England | 7 | 28 |
| BJ Watling | New Zealand | 7 | 18 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 7 | 11 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 7 | 7 |
| Rishabh Pant | India | 7 | 15 |
| MS Dhoni | India | 6 | 33 |
Orthodox Rishabh Pant
Despite batting on a pitch that had everything for a batter, Pant was never in a hurry. He tried to play some unorthodox shots only a few times. But those were rare occasions. One of them was his first shot against Ben Stokes when Pant took the England captain on for a four. His shot gave both Stokes, Shubman Gill and the umpire a scare as the ball travelled between them. But then, he focused on defence as former India captain Sourav Ganguly urged him to do in England. Rishabh Pant hardly went on the attack. Instead, he played a measured innings.
While he focused on defence, one cannot stop Pant from playing some unorthodox shots. And he did. On Day 2, Pant took on Shoaib Bashir with a reverse scoop for a four. And then, occasionally, he hit some powerful shots to keep England’s attack at bay. With Shubman Gill, Pant added a record 209-run stand. Before he perished, Pant scored 134 runs off 178 balls. He hit 12 fours and six sixes, also surpassing Dhoni (78) for most sixes in Tests. Only Virender Sehwag (90) and Rohit (88) had hit more.
In England, he now has the best Test average among the current Indian batters. In his last four innings in England, Pant scored 50, 146, 57 and this century. With his century in Headingley, Pant equalled Sourav Ganguly, who also had three tons in England.
“By far, India’s greatest ever Test batter-keeper. I was worried when he was in the 90s that he might end up getting his 8th 90 of his career. It is just unbelievable that he has so many 90s! But he’s a breath of fresh air. When he got out and raised his bat, there were a lot of English supporters who stood up and applauded that innings. That’s what we love about England. These guys come to watch good cricket. They obviously want their team to win, but when they see excellence from the opposition, you can see true appreciation for it,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on JioHotstar.
