Rishabh Pant was perhaps already India’s greatest wicketkeeper batter in Test cricket. Before the start of the India vs England series, he had six hundreds, the joint-most for any Indian. He was tied with MS Dhoni. Well, that isn’t the case anymore. After his 134-run knock against England at Headingley, Pant now has the most Test hundreds by an Indian wicketkeeper.
After Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s retirement, Pant had perhaps become the most senior batter in Team India. In the India vs England 1st Test, he played in that manner. He started very conservatively. Known for his shot-making, Pant relied on singles and doubles for the most part.
Pant wins Gavaskar over
Having ended the first day unbeaten at 65, he was eyeing his third Test hundred in England. And in the first session of day two, that came true. By hitting a one-handed six, he brought up his hundred in style. After that, Pant performed a somersault.
What surprised some the most was Sunil Gavaskar’s reaction. The former Indian captain had gone hard at Pant a few months ago after he departed playing a reverse ramp against Australia. He had yelled ‘stupid, stupid, stupid’ in anger after Pant was dismissed. However, Pant, with his mature knock, won Gavaskar over.
After Pant reached the milestone, he changed his tune. After picking up the mic, Gavaskar used an ‘s’ word, but it wasn’t ‘stupid’. In delight, he said, ‘Superb, superb, superb.’ It’s hard not to love Rishabh Pant, the batter, and even Gavaskar has eaten his words after seeing Pant play one of his best knocks in Test cricket.
